Vucic: Good news soon regarding withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo’s independence

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, ahead of his trip to New York for the UN General Assembly, said that good news could soon be expected regarding the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

Vucic told Blic TV that in New York, he would meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, European Council President Antonio Costa, as well as with 22 other presidents and prime ministers from various countries.

“Among them will also be some African leaders, and you can expect good news soon regarding the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo’s independence,” Vucic underlined.

He said he hopes to attend the gathering organized by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, but at that time, he is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly.

Vucic stressed that the talks in New York are very important and that he expects a lot from them.

Asked about the lifting of US tariffs, he said he fears there will be no further delays and that Serbia will find itself in an extremely difficult situation.

“If we resolve the tariff issue, one Japanese company has announced an additional €500 million investment. I am generally very pessimistic and don’t make optimistic forecasts. But I believe we will resolve this problem, we are on the right track and not far from a solution, I hope,” he explained.

Vucic said resolving the tariffs is not just about 1 billion worth of exports, but also about the investment climate, which is why it is crucial to settle it as soon as possible.

For Serbia, the signal that the US wants a strategic dialogue is important

Speaking about the announced strategic dialogue between Serbia and the US, President Vucic emphasized that it is very important for Serbia that the United States wants such a dialogue, despite disagreements on some issues.

He recalled that the US suspended its strategic dialogue with Pristina due to recent actions by the Kosovo authorities and the attitude of Albin Kurti, who, as Vucic put it, does not respect even his closest allies.

“For us, that dialogue is very important. We don’t have to agree on everything. We haven’t and won’t agree on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija. Serbia is a militarily neutral country and will not join either NATO, CSTO, or any military bloc, because it wants to defend its own sky and land. From this, it is clear that we have a somewhat narrower path of dialogue compared to other countries, but it is important for us that the US wants a strategic dialogue with Serbia. That is important for all other investors worldwide, as well as for security and stability,” Vucic explained.

Military parade – showing strength as a deterrent to any potential aggressor

Vucic invited citizens to attend tomorrow’s military parade, where, as he noted, they will be able to see the major changes and progress made over the past 13 years.

“This is now a different country, not only with higher salaries and pensions, kilometers of highways and railways, and science and technology parks, which didn’t exist before but now there are five. Our army and police are today incomparably better equipped and stronger,” Vucic said.

He pointed out that the official decision to hold the parade was made back on May 1 and that it is not being prepared “hastily” for daily needs.

“This will be Serbia’s pride. We want to show what we have achieved, but also provide a deterrent response. Let’s not pretend to be naive, the military alliance of Pristina, Tirana, and Zagreb wasn’t formed because of Austria, Greece, Slovenia, or Romania, but because of Serbia. The military alliance of Zagreb and Ljubljana, in which they speak against Serbia and the Republic of Srpska, wasn’t formed because of Austria, but against Serbia. Our military parade is a show of our strength as a deterrent to any potential aggressor. We are not going to attack anyone, we want peace. We want to preserve peace. And peace and stability cannot be preserved through weakness, but only through strength,” Vucic stressed.

He added that this is why the parade is being held under the name “Strength of Unity,” since both strength and unity are vital for Serbia.

“For us, this is the way to survive. If we didn’t have a strong army, they would trample us. They would invent something and crush us. Today, no one can crush Serbia. Serbia is a stable country,” President Vucic concluded.