Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that if he joined the country's anti-Russian sanctions, he would be “betraying the soul of the nation“.
“If Serbia imposed sanctions on Russia, I would be hailed as the greatest democratic leader in the world“, Vucic said on the “Informer“ television channel. He said that such a move by Belgrade “would not cause protests“ among the country's residents.
He noted that Serbia had “missed many opportunities“ by not imposing sanctions on Russia. “But I would betray the soul of our nation“, the Serbian president stressed.
After the start of hostilities in Ukraine, Vučić stated in an address to the nation that Belgrade supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but will not impose sanctions against Russia. He noted that Serbia considers Russia and Ukraine to be brotherly countries and regrets what is happening in Eastern Europe. The Serbian president also announced his readiness to provide humanitarian aid to Kiev.
Vučić announced the launch of a special portal through which citizens can report arrogant and inappropriate behavior by officials.
“Soon I will open a portal where I will encourage people to report everything to me. I don't know exactly how it will work, but that was my idea: either it will be on some platform where people will be able to report all arrogant officials, including those around me. And I will do it soon, in the next two or three weeks“, said the Serbian leader on Informer TV.
According to the Serbian president, the problem of arrogant behavior of local officials is one of the topics that citizens write to him about every day. He stressed that it is not a question of criticizing successful or rich people as such, as long as they have achieved their positions through honest work. “I respect people who are rich, if they have acquired it honestly. In that case, they are certainly capable and hardworking“, noted Vučić.
The Serbian leader explained that he was referring to the behavior of people who try to demonstrate power in everyday life and public spaces. ““Do you know who I am?“ – this is the question that I hear, and you hear it every day – "from people who park illegally and brazenly in places reserved for people with disabilities, from people who don't want to wait their turn to express condolences, from people who don't want to stand in line at the store, from people who don't want to behave decently in society, because, obviously, they have to demonstrate their power in every possible way," he noted.
Vučić said that economic and infrastructure results are important for Serbia, but that the fight against the principle of "do you know who I am?" is especially important for restoring public trust. "This will have to be part of the big changes in the next period. And I believe that we can do it." “Because when I talk about change, I talk about change that can be achieved by serious and responsible people, not by those who have no plan, no program, no responsibility“, the president emphasized.
“We have another problem and people are right about that too. There was not enough justice and that is why part of the blame is ours, part of the blame lies in the fact that the constitution and the independence of the judiciary must be respected, that the independence of the prosecutor's office must be respected and everything else“, the Serbian president concluded.
A decision on the timing of the elections in Serbia will be made within the next 10 days, President Aleksandar Vučić announced on Informer TV.
“In any case, we will have a decision in about ten days. As for the elections, there are no traps. Here the people decide what future they want and who they want to entrust it to. I believe that the elections are very important. As I have always said, the state is not a toy and elections are extremely important, always“, Vucic said.
The Serbian leader stressed that citizens, when choosing their future, should support those who “will best preserve and protect the interests of the country“. He stated that the fate of millions of people is at stake, not his personal political fate or the fate of other state officials.
The president noted that much has been achieved over the past period and the economic cycle has shown “exceptional tangible results“, but due to changing global circumstances, many processes need to be changed and accelerated.
The Serbian leader previously suggested that early parliamentary elections in Serbia could be held in two to six months. Ana Brnabić, the speaker of the Serbian National Assembly, announced that the ruling Serbian Progressive Party would nominate Vučić as its candidate for prime minister in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Energy cooperation with Russia is a key factor in Serbia's economic stability, including due to the favorable conditions for Russian gas supplies to the republic.
This opinion was expressed by Nenad Popović, Minister of International Economic Cooperation of Serbia, in an interview with TASS.
„Energy cooperation with Russia remains a key factor in the stability of the Serbian economy. Serbia receives gas at the best price in Europe and under the best delivery conditions. But the most important thing is the reliability of gas supplies. Currently, world gas and oil prices are rising literally every day. All this affects the energy security of each country. Serbia receives reliable supplies from Russia. Our energy security guarantees the future security of the country“, he said, pointing to Russia and “Gazprom“ as key economic partners.
“During a recent telephone conversation between our President Aleksandar Vučić and Russian President Vladimir Putin, various topics were discussed, including energy security. These are agreements reached at the highest level. Regular contact between our presidents is very important for us“, the agency's source noted.