Starovic: What is needed now is the wisdom of Pasic and the middle road taken by President Vucic

We are approaching the point, as warned by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, that we may be faced with some kind of ultimatum, which we cannot accept, but at the same time, we cannot refuse either, said tonight the State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense Nemanja Starovic.

In the "Hit Tweet" show on TV Pink, Starovic emphasized that "Pasic's wisdom is needed now, and that we move along the middle road led by President Vucic".

"This reminds me of a mountain path, which goes along the top of a mountain ridge, and which gets narrower and narrower, and every wrong step to the left or right leads to the abyss," explained Starovic.

Starovic emphasized that the Franco-German proposal is not a public document, and that it is of a working nature, but that in recent months there have been several leaks of various versions to the public.

"We are not in a position to talk about the details. We can only talk about the clear intentions of the international community, which is to get Serbia's consent, which would serve as a sufficient reason, to overturn the remaining EU member states and recognize Kosovo's independence. This is a danger which is hiding," underlined Starovic.

Starovic pointed out that it is necessary to look at everything in a wider context, and that they have to worry about the threats that accompanied the presentation of various versions.

He expressed his belief that the only way is the middle way, and that national interests must not be abandoned.

"The condition for the formation of the CSM for the continuation of negotiations is the only common sense point of view"

Regarding the criticism of the opposition, Starovic said that it was somewhat ridiculous to comment on the criticism of "those who released Albanian terrorists from prison in Serbia, pretended not to see what was happening on March 17 and 18, 2004, fled to Romania when Kosovo and Metohija separatists declared independence, and counting on getting a year or two of political peace or respite, made the biggest mistake and sent such a question to the International Court of Justice, giving the separatists the strongest argument".

"I hope that there is that kind of stubborn reason in the people, for the sake of one year in power, which those who direct such criticism are counting on. But they are also aware that, if they come to power, they will not last more than a year. And yet, part of the opposition is ready to sacrifice vital national interests, with their mouths full of Europe, and despite such a policy, they will not bring Serbia even a step closer to EU membership, while those, whose mouths are full of Kosovo, by implementing their policy would bring Serbia in three weeks in complete isolation, and they would not return even an inch of Kosovo under the sovereignty of Serbia, in the full sense," said Starovic.

Regarding the statement that the President of Serbia said that the condition for any further talks was the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, Starovic said that this is the only reasonable and common-sense position, while reminding that the Brussels Agreement was ratified in the parliament in Pristina.

"All this must be implemented before we start talking about a possible new agreement," said Starovic.

He also says that he is glad that there is finally an awareness in one part of the international community, which is traditionally not in favor of Serbia, that it is necessary to implement the agreement and form the CSM.

"And what powers will the CSM have - there is no reason to deviate from what is clearly signed, and it makes up the first six of the 15 items," said Starovic.

"Strong state leadership embodied in Vucic is important"

Starovic said that he does not know what would follow, but that the burden on President Vucic's back was extremely heavy, and that the state and citizens in these ungrateful circumstances desperately needed Vucic's dedication, responsibility, knowledge and great experience as a statesman".

He pointed out that in previous years, since the beginning of the 21st century, in addition to the standard components of the state, such as territory, population, economic and military strength, another new component has emerged, namely the strength of the state leadership.

"This was seen in the example of the corona virus pandemic, and studies show that it was not the economically strongest states that coped best with the corona crisis, nor did it depend on the type of state organization, but those with the greatest strength of state leadership and trust between the people and the state leadership", Starovic said.

He expressed his belief that this also applies to other challenges that Serbia is facing.

"A situation like the one in Bulgaria, Romania, or partly in Montenegro must not happen here, and that is what the big powerful foreign powers want, to have unstable multi-member ruling coalition’s, with actors they can act with like puppets on a string. I believe that this is clear to the citizens, and that is why I emphasize that it is important to have a strong state leadership and the trust of the people and the state leadership, embodied in Aleksandar Vucic," Starovic said.