Vucic: Kosovo, according to Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council, belongs to Serbia, but the West didn't care about that

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, stated that Kosovo, according to Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council, belongs to Serbia, but that the West did not care about this because, in 1999, through bombing, they aimed to create all conditions for Kosovo's secession, adding that this "Kosovo precedent" contributed to the war in Ukraine and also created other flashpoints.

In an interview with Mario Nawfal published on his profile on the social network "X", when asked about NATO's bombing of the FR Yugoslavia in 1999, Vucic reminded that it was an illegal action, without the approval of the UN Security Council—an unilateral decision made by NATO, not the UN or anyone else.

"They wanted to carry this out to help Kosovo and Metohija secede. When people from the EU and the USA tell Putin today that he is violating Ukraine's territorial integrity and international law, as well as the UN Charter, Putin has a simple answer—'I'm not the one who did it first, you did it with Serbia.' And when they say that Kosovo Albanians were facing a humanitarian disaster, Putin used that for the Russians in Donbas," explained the President of Serbia.

He stated that it became clear in 2008, when Kosovo declared independence, that there was no legal justification for the aggression of 1999, and this was supported from the very beginning by Clinton and European administrations.

"Now they are great supporters of values, international law, and that no one can change borders. But you did it," emphasized Vucic.

He underlined that Kosovo, even according to Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council, belongs to Serbia and the FRY.

"But they didn't care, they wanted to create all conditions for Kosovo's secession from our country," Vucic was clear.

He reminded that, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, he pointed out to the President of France and the Chancellor of Germany that they would hear something they wouldn't be able to reject, with which they did not agree. However, after their conversation with Putin, all three of them said that the Russian president insisted on the Kosovo precedent.

"What Putin says is not in Serbia's favor, but he speaks about what the West did," noted President Vucic.

He recounted that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told him that he had rejected a request from the Americans and others in 1999, when he became prime minister, to approve NATO's ground forces attacking Serbia from the north.

"At that time, you had the peak of Western power, and Clinton was facing internal problems. Everyone wanted to show strength. They tried to set an example in Serbia. They thought Serbs would surrender after two or three days, that it would be easy, so they accepted some kind of compromise solution, even though we were militarily defeated. They wanted everything to finish as quickly as possible. It was done in a completely illegal and criminal manner. They created a precedent that led us into the Ukrainian war," Vucic repeated, mentioning the issues of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and other countries and territories.

Regarding Racak, he said that the people killed there were fighting against the Serbian or Yugoslav police.

"Do you know how many Serbs were killed in Bosnia and Herzegovina? More than 30,000, and no one wants to see that. I'm not saying we were angels, that we didn’t do things we’re ashamed of. That was the case with others as well. Serbs were not the ones who wanted to secede from Yugoslavia, but everyone else," pointed out the President of Serbia.

When it comes to the new U.S. president, Vucic said that there is no doubt that the greatest support in Serbia is for Donald Trump.

Vucic explained that the reason for the support of Donald Trump in Serbia is that people want respect from the U.S. and to be heard there.

"They live by Western values. They want someone in the U.S. who can at least listen and try to understand Serbian issues. Everyone else in the region was completely against Trump. Only here, 80 percent of the citizens supported him, and today it’s even more. Only this urban elite that protests is against him. Everyone else loves him. It’s emotional, irrational. It is not that he did something for us, but people see that it’s possible to talk to him. His son was here. People see that he does not hate our country; he loves it," explained Vucic.

He added that when the Washington Agreement was negotiated, Grenell, O'Brien, and Kushner listened to the Serbian side for three hours.

"They listened to representatives of a small country for three hours. People want to be respected. That is why the popularity of the U.S. is growing, because of Trump," said Vucic.

He noted that he had 20 meetings with Putin, met Trump two or three times, had 12 meetings with the President of China, and met with Volodymyr Zelensky nine times.

"Many met with Putin secretly. I will see him on May 9th after three and a half years. That means we are sincere, we do what we say, which is not always the case with others," the President of Serbia pointed out.

He is also confident that Trump knows what he is doing.

"He will create turbulence with the Chinese, Mexico, Canada. He will make a deal with the Chinese, but he will continue the big competition on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and everything. He wants to present himself as the only bastion of democracy. He wants to undermine the EU because he doesn’t like Brussels' structures and knows who attacked him. In the end, he will make a trade agreement with China and Russia. I am confident there will be an alliance between the U.S. and Russia on major geopolitical issues," Vucic said.

Protests are causing economic problems

Vucic stated that he had hoped Serbia would be the fastest-growing economy in Europe this year, but protests are causing problems.

"We still hope to be among the top three or four economies in Europe," he said, adding that in the last seven to ten years, there has been enormous economic progress.

Regarding the cause of the protests, the tragic railway station accident in Novi Sad that killed 16 people, Vucic mentioned that the station was built 60 years ago, and although much of it was renovated, the canopy wasn't, which caused the problem.

"But it’s a problem from the past because it wasn't built properly. Our job is to renovate it correctly and secure it," Vucic said.

He mentioned that the protests were organized by wealthy, well-off people and that there were no poor people on the streets.

"A false elite that is dissatisfied because they are not in power. Economic issues are not the problem in the country. Today, we have the highest salaries and pensions ever; we’ve built more kilometers of highways than ever before. There are no economic problems," said Vucic.

However, he acknowledges that there is always a reason for dissatisfaction with those in power.

"I have been in power for 13 years. That’s too long, and many people have had enough. Then you must understand that this is a real colored revolution. A large amount of money was pumped into the country through media platforms like United Media, which led a terrible campaign based not on results. They criminalized and dehumanized me, while remaining silent about results. There was also significant external interference. They didn’t manage to overthrow us. The people protesting don’t care about the victims; even most of the victims' families said they aren’t doing it for them," Vucic explained.

He believes most people aren’t paid from abroad, but that doesn’t mean anything because they can't recognize the influence they are exposed to.

"When they watch N1 and Nova S, what can they see? Whether they get paid or not, they believe I am at the top of the drug dealers in Jovanjica. They ran a campaign for three years based on pure lies. Those media are paid from abroad, and that is what I am talking about. They have been building it for years. When you see political parties that cannot oppose those in power, you create your own network of NGOs in small towns to incite resistance movements, which you would use when the time comes," said Vucic.

He added that there were high expectations among the people protesting because they believe it is a revolution and it’s only a matter of time before they overthrow him.

"If they had started with politics at the beginning, people would have said it’s not about politics but fighting corruption, more justice. Now they cannot hide it. They say they are against violence, yet they carry out violent actions against those who oppose them. They do not want to engage in democratic dialogue. We offered dialogue, but they did not want it. They asked us to publish documentation, and then they said, who will read all of it… When they asked for money for the university, they got it, but they no longer talk about conditions and demands. They need radicalization and are making bigger mistakes," Vucic said.

He believes the atmosphere is different today than a month ago because citizens have understood what it is about.

He mentioned that, due to protests in recent months, fewer foreign direct investments have been recorded compared to the same period in previous years.

"Even S&P and Moody’s in their reports mentioned concern that the protests bring insecurity and instability to the country, which could negatively affect its economic future," Vucic added.

He reiterated that during the March 15th protest, the authorities did not use violence or acoustic weapons.

"They want to overthrow me, and that’s it. That’s the only reason they haven’t ended the protests. They won’t go to elections because they can’t win. I accept reality. There are many people protesting, and I respect that. I know the numbers are significantly lower than they were a month ago, even three times lower. But I have understood the message, there is no doubt. Everything that’s true and sincere, I’ve understood every expressed fear. I know what I must do. I have a year and a half to finish my last term," said Vucic.

When asked what he would do once his term ends, he replied that he doesn’t know yet.