Vucic: As a small country, we must try to preserve our independence

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic pointed out today that the global situation was becoming more difficult day by day, and that as a small country we had to find our place under the sun and stay and survive on our own and try to preserve independence and sovereignty in decision-making.

Vucic, addressing the citizens in Kraljevo, after visiting the Raska district, said that everyone knew that today the situation in the world was so complicated and complex.

"It is becoming more difficult day by day; there is no end in sight to the war in Ukraine. Things between the great powers - between China and the US and China and Europe, as well as the great Western powers and Russia - are becoming even more complicated. As a small country, we have to find our place under the sun, to stay and survive on our own, to try to preserve our independence and sovereignty in decision-making," he emphasized.

He pointed out that it was not independence for the country to have its own borders, army, and police, but when the ministers were not chosen by someone from outside; when the country itself decided which roads and railways to build.

He said that it was not easy to preserve it, and many easily said only what the people liked to hear.

He added that our country was progressing, and others in the region didn’t like that, because they wanted a weak Serbia.

"And why? You heard Denis Becirovic and Albin Kurti who publicly supported Milo Djukanovic and said that he had to win in Montenegro, because if that didn’t happen, it would be a 'Serbian world'. I am silent on every insult from Montenegro, and they will get an answer on Monday because I will not interfere in their elections. But that's the phenomenon - imagine if I said the same thing as Becirovic and Kurti?! There is no place in the world where I would not be crucified, in Brussels, Washington; there is no media in Europe that would not write about it. But this is normal, that they all do it, and that Serbia is not allowed to say anything. Even then, they will say that Serbia is doing something illegal," President Vucic pointed out.

He noticed that this had been done for decades, because Serbia always had to be weaker than the others in the region, because the big ones only make, as they think, a balance by strengthening all others in the region in relation to us.

"And, in fact, they create an imbalance all the time - for Serbia to be smaller, weaker, so that everyone else would not be able to control Serbian growth, economic power, the power of the army, and the overall Serbian state-building energies and forces. That's the meaning of everything," Vucic emphasized.

He repeated that he had never used the phrase "Serbian world", but it had been heard from different candidates in the region.

"And with what we threaten them - with faster economic growth, our work, diligent, hardworking, by showing that we can create value greater than them? We did that and we are guilty of it," Vucic pointed out.

He also stated that the day after the announcement that on April 22, on the Day of the Serbian Armed Forces, the army would show what it produced and what it had bought, from the French, Chinese, and Russians, in all regional media, writings had appeared that "Vucic holds a parade in the place where hundreds of Albanians were killed, and he is not ashamed".

"Although that place has nothing to do with it, neither was anyone killed there. But to explain so many lies to someone is impossible. So shut up and work. The still water runs deep. That is why it is important to work and build the country, roads, and railways. I am not ashamed to say that we are also strengthening our army, because without a strong army, Serbia would be insignificant, and we wouldn’t be interesting to them," President Vucic said.

He added that the Serbian army was much stronger today than before.

"But our message must be - that we must be very smart, that we know all our weaknesses, and that we understand the difficult environment we are in and that we are the ones who will advocate for peace," Vucic said.

He pointed out that today in Serbia there were two groups, which were equally frivolous and irresponsible. Some, as he stated, said "what do we care, we are the strongest, we can do everything, we will not talk"

"Others will agree to give up Kosovo without question just to be the first at a ball or on the lawn of some embassy and think that someone else will keep them in power instead of their people," Vucic emphasized.

Both of those groups, he underlined, were a scourge of the Serbs, and both of those groups had to be defeated.

"That's why I came up with the idea of a responsible policy, we managed to preserve peace, to build Serbia, to employ, and we brought the country to the point where our average salary is around 740 euros, while it was 330 euros," he explained.

That policy, he pointed out, had led to the fact that a lot had been done in Kraljevo, where there were still countless problems.

"For the people of Kraljevo, we will do the entire Cacak-Adrani corridor, after that we will work from Adran to Trstenik, then we will go to Kraljevo, Raska, and Novi Pazar to work on high-speed roads but to add this, we will also do an indoor swimming pool because you asked for it, but before that, what is more important, we will build a diagnostic center, which is very important for Kraljevo," he added.

The works on the diagnostic center are being started immediately, but, he adds, something about the prices still needs to be checked.

He pointed out that some had claimed that the fact that he had accepted the agreement in Ohrid meant that five countries would recognize Kosovo immediately, and then the president of Greece had come and said that Athens would not change its position, and a day later Spain had said the same.

In this regard, he said that the opposition was only making things up because their happiness was exclusively Serbian misfortune.

At that moment, a young man called the people gathered at the "Ibar" Sports Center in Kraljevac to shout "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia", for which Vucic thanked him, saying that it forced him to repeat that he knew very well what he had sworn to do, that he would take care about the country, but also to know that Serbia should not lose more children.

"I don't want you to carry a rifle, but a computer in your hand, so that you and your children have a future," Vucic told him.

He said that today he was being told that he had to impose sanctions on Russia and that even his party was talking about it.

"The Serbian Progressive Party led the country for ten years and that party did historic things for its country. I saw today that people from our party are going public and saying that I have bad excuses for not imposing sanctions on Russia. I think that decision is correct and I brought it while taking into account the interests of Serbia and they think that I am justifying myself to someone about it. The president of a free country does not justify himself to anyone. I am the one who said that we would not introduce sanctions. We know how it was when you introduced sanctions and attacked our country in 1999," he added.

Vucic said that he had done everything in the interest of the state and that the president of a free and independent country did not justify himself to anyone, that he spoke clearly and loudly about his views.

"I am the one who wrote the conclusions of the National Security Council, which said that we respected the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the UN Charter that we would not introduce sanctions, because we knew how it had been for us when they had attacked our country. We respect everything, but we have our own policy," he emphasized.

The new movement, he says, should unite people who love their country and who know what an independent, libertarian Serbia is.

Vucic said that there would be “all kinds” of decisions, but that the most important thing was to preserve freedom and Serbia.

"I will not be swayed by applause, thinking that I can do anything, because one moment of inattention and indiscretion can lead the country to disaster. I won't do that to the country. I want you to remember me for the roads, railways, schools, hospitals, for what was built, and not for irresponsibility and frivolity," Vucic said.

He stated that Serbia had to stay on the European path, but also protect its traditional friends, not turn its back on them when the going gets tough, and behave responsibly and seriously.

"There is a lot of uncertainty ahead of us and the question is how things will unfold in the world. Be that as it may, know that, I will not swear by anything other than the Constitution, we will know how to protect the country and do our best, fighting for the interests of Serbia, because we have no other. You are my strength and energy, I don't exist without you and we can only do something together," Vucic said to the citizens of Kraljevo, who repeatedly interrupted him with applause during his speech.

He also told everyone who said that "Vucic is afraid of the elections", after which headlines appeared in some media that "the elections will be held in September, which is harassment of citizens", to come to an agreement - whether they wanted elections or not.

"If you don't want to, let us work, and if you want to, you will have elections and we will win more convincingly than the previous ones. I guarantee you that, because you cannot defeat and silence a decent and normal Serbia with any threats," Vucic said.