Vucic from Brussels: I expect nothing from the meeting with Kurti

Today in Brussels, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he expects nothing from the meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, stating that this time too, he will fight for the interests of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija.

President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, told reporters in Brussels before meetings with Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as part of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, as well as with the EU High Representative Josep Borrell and the EU Special Representative for the Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak, that he expects the joint meeting to be just like all the others.

"I expect Kurti to dramatize and shout until I tell him to stop, just as always. Then he will come out and say 'little Putin said this, did that,' just like always," said Vucic.

He added that Borrell and Lajcak will listen carefully and that he has no complaints about them.

"They work under difficult circumstances, having someone who really hates Serbs and lives to cause trouble for Serbs, rather than making agreements. In any case, we will fight for the interests of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija, we will highlight the difficult position of the Serbian people, but I do not expect any major conclusions," Vucic said.

Commenting on the meetings he had so far in Brussels, specifically with the Director-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, Gert Jan Koopman, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Olivér Várhelyi, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, Vucic stated that the main topics were the Growth Plan agenda, reforms, and a single regional market.

"We have another problem that we need to solve, we will be ready in the next seven days, and this has been well assessed by Várhelyi and Koopman," said the President of Serbia.

According to him, he is especially grateful to Michel for today's meeting where they discussed all topics concerning Serbia and its EU integration, but also global events.

"Here they basically take me to this building, prepare sandwiches, then the ordeal with Kurti, but today was different, strategically important and I am glad that I could talk about everything with Michel, including the world, Ukraine, the growth agenda, but also strategic reforms within the EU so we can better determine what needs to be done in the coming period," said Vucic.

He announced that he expects the first tranches from the growth agenda by the end of the year, adding that this is not the most important aspect.

"It is important as a signal that we are doing our job because it attracts investors, but it is even more important that we solve problems of the unique payment zone, green corridors, we talked about investments, about many things, we have new momentum and an opportunity to not just say we are accelerating the process of European integration, but to make it better and more beneficial for our people," stated the President of Serbia.

In response to a question from an Albanian journalist from Kosovo about whether he is ready to recognize Kosovo's independence, Vucic emphasized that he recognizes UN Security Council Resolution 1244, international law, and believes that the journalist, being a very smart person, understands this.

"I am ready to participate in seeking a compromise solution with the Kosovo Albanians; there are many possibilities for compromise, but I have not seen your side's willingness to implement something that was signed 11 years ago, which is the Community of Serb Municipalities. The Serbian side has fulfilled many things from justice, prosecutor's office, police, license plates, ID cards, and much more. You have done nothing, except occasionally harass Serbs, not you personally, of course, not any journalist, but Albin Kurti and his people," Vucic highlighted in English.

He congratulated Mark Rutte on being elected as the Secretary-General of NATO and expressed hope that he will have correct relations with him as he had with Jens Stoltenberg.

"The EU will always have a firm stance towards Russia. Whether NATO will attack Russia, I do not know. I congratulate Mark Rutte and we had correct relations with Stoltenberg; I hope to have correct relations with Rutte as well," he stated.