Vucic: The achieved solution represents relief for Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija

Aleksandar Vucic, the President of Serbia, said today that the solution reached regarding the implementation of the Law on Foreigners in Kosovo and Metohija represents relief for the Serbian people.

“We spoke with the Europeans, they made an effort, and we spoke with Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija about what is acceptable to them. With all of that, there are no nice and easy solutions, but despite all the different interpretations, this is nevertheless a relief for them, a model has been achieved,” Vucic told reporters in Smederevska Palanka.

He expressed gratitude to the European Union for its engagement.

“Even though we know that they do not respect the United Nations Charter and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, I am grateful for the engagement of the Europeans who wanted to avoid a greater catastrophe and conflicts at this moment,” the Serbian president emphasized.

He reiterated that in seven to ten days, he will go to the crossings to talk with Serbs from Kosovo about how the state can further help them.

“I will also go to the crossings to speak with the people, with representatives of Serbs in Raska, but I want to talk with ordinary people about how we can help our people in Kosovo and Metohija,” Vucic said.

I will not allow Serbia to be weaker than those who surround us

Responding to questions regarding statements from Croatia about Serbia’s armament, Vucic said that he “will not allow Serbia to be weaker than those who surround us.”

He emphasized that more military exercises are ahead and added that the army is not a toy.

“There has not been a single night in the past 14 years that I have not thought about the safety and security of our state before going to bed. Not a single night. I am too responsible and dedicated for Serbia to be humiliated and dismantled as it was in the 1990s. Many did not believe me. When I took exams, I aimed for the highest grade, not just to pass. And now they are surprised in the region where all this came from. I regret what you in the media did regarding that missile, those who sounded the alarms, not us, those who took 14 percent of our territory and who destroyed the Brussels Agreement while they continue to arm themselves. You see how the Croats and everyone else led you to say what they wanted you to say. They claim we sounded the alarm. But there was no alarm when you formed a military alliance with Pristina and Tirana. There was no alarm when you bought used Rafales and explained to us that it was normal for you to receive Meteor missiles while we get weaker MICA missile systems. Their state leadership even boasted about it, it was considered completely normal,” Vucic said.

He stressed that he is Serbia’s supreme commander and must care about the defense and protection of every village.

“Do you know what defends Kragujevac today? Ten times stronger than before. But they led you to say that we sounded the alarm, not those who took 14 percent of our territory and who are arming themselves beyond imagination. What do you need 16 self-propelled howitzers for?” he asked.

He added that he does not want to say everything Serbia has acquired and what it will still acquire.

“They did not know we had the Krasukha until I decided to activate it. We will continue acquiring systems, and no one will stop me. And we will not attack anyone. Look at how deceptive they are, they named that missile ‘Zagrepcanka’ so they could complain about us to the teacher. We raised our aircraft to perform afterburners up to 12 kilometers to measure how long it takes to scramble jets and reach that altitude, and it takes a little less than two and a half minutes,” he said.

Commenting on a statement by Croatian politician Ivana Kekin that Croatia’s strategic goal is a Serbia without Vucic, he said that does not surprise him.

“In the World War I, they were on the opposite side, and we liberated them. We brought them into a new state. Then they started spreading stories about gendarmes beating Croatian gentlemen. Then they got Josip Broz Tito, whom they set against Leka Rankovic, and Leka ended the way he did. They managed that with prominent partisans who saw what was being done to Serbian interests. If you look at the careers of people like Slavko Rodic and Ivan Milutinovic you will see many strange figures. Then they dismantled Yugoslavia and carried out ethnic cleansing. They also killed King Aleksandar, they were the main protagonists of that. They acted against Slobodan Milosevic and later against Zoran Djindjic. In the magazine ‘Nacional’ they accused him of being the head of a tobacco mafia. They even attacked Vojislav Kostunica as incompetent, while leaving the only one they never attacked. That is Boris Tadic,” Vucic said.

He added that it is naturally their strategic interest, and that they are wise enough to know that if they want to maintain dominance in the region, Serbia must be weak.

“That is why they do not need Vucic but weak people who will bow down to them. You all know this, you just need to remind yourselves sometimes. We will not attack them, they have no reason to fear us, we have reason to fear them because they have armed themselves enormously. Another thing that surprised them is how much money we have and how much we have armed ourselves. Money is not our problem, the deficit is. We will not create a deficit or get used to it,” the Serbian president said.

He emphasized that Serbia will have to build better relations with them as well, but only when he is sure that they cannot threaten Serbia’s freedom, especially its territorial integrity and sovereignty.