Vucic: Under no circumstances will we recognize the independence of Kosovo

President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, stated tonight that Serbia will not recognize the independence of Kosovo under any circumstances and will continue to conduct an independent and sovereign policy, in accordance with its national interests.

At the SNS forum with the youth “Future, not past”, Vucic commented on the protests in Serbia, saying that today some are 'forced to do dirty work for money', which, he says, currently suits foreign powers, for at least three reasons.

“First, they are trying to settle everything regarding Kosovo as soon as possible, and they see that, as long as I am president and this government is in power, we will not recognize the independence of Kosovo under any circumstances,” the President of Serbia declared.

This is necessary, he explained, not because they love the Albanians and hate the Serbs, but because of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“They want to be able to tell Putin – 'do not refer to the Kosovo precedent when you talk about Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea, because it does not stand, we have made a bilateral agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, you can no longer ask for that',”  said Vucic.

As a second reason, he mentioned that many cannot stand Serbia being the leading power and force in the region, reminding that in 2012, Serbia was third or fourth in the region in economic terms.

“Serbia is an independent and sovereign country that you cannot command, which does not react to calls from embassies, when they say 'this law is allowed, this can be done, this cannot be done...' I have always had a simple answer to that, which I see is costly. If that's really the case, if you seek one hundred percent obedience, then why do you need any government at all. Just place three secretaries in Belgrade, Pristina, Sarajevo, Zagreb, then send an email, they confirm it, and everything is done. Serbia did not want that, Serbia does not want that and will never want that. It only wants to make decisions in the best interest of its country,” emphasized Vucic.

As a third reason, he mentioned his opposition to the adoption of the Srebrenica Resolution in May before the UN General Assembly, passed, he says, contrary to all laws and international legal norms.

“They decided to commemorate the Day of Genocide in Srebrenica. We opposed it and then they told me they would never forget it because I led the brave fight of small countries that opposed the most powerful, from Germany to the USA. I knew it would cost me and everyone dearly. But today, when you see who supports the protests, which are not just student protests, and who was the first, the loudest - Nataša Kandic, with the conclusion that hopefully there will come a government that will simply say that there was genocide in Srebrenica. Maybe it's better not to be in any government than to be in one that serves foreign interests, not those of its own country. I will not change this stance while I am alive,” Vucic declared.