Brnabic: Sanctions that opposition is asking EU to impose are against Serbia and would isolate the country

Photo: Tanjug/National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia/ Pedja Vuckovic

Serbian National Assembly President Ana Brnabic stated today - regarding the request of the opposition made in the European Parliament to impose sanctions against top state officials - that they were in fact seeking sanctions against their own country and people.

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She also pointed out that such sanctions would lead to the isolation of the country and would have negative consequences on the image and the economy of Serbia.

Brnabic said it is a spin that sanctions are being sought against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic because he shook hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that in reality the opposition is seeking these sanctions against Vucic, Serbia and its citizens because they cannot defeat Vucic in a democratic election.

"It has nothing to do with shaking hands with Putin. I didn't shake hands with him but they're asking for sanctions against me as well. The police officers, against whom they also demand sanctions, did not shake hands either, they were doing their job and suffered physical and verbal abuse from the 'blockaders' and are only protecting public peace and order by showing maximum restraint and tolerance," Brnabic told TV Pink.

She wondered why a part of the opposition is seeking sanctions against Aleksandar Vucic and what it is that Vucic has done that is not in line with the best interests of Serbia, recalling that he has repeatedly called for dialogue.

Brnabic added that sanctions against their own country and people were asked for in the the European Parliament by those who did not fulfill the constitutional obligation to attend consultations with the president of the Republic after the elections.

"They refused that conversation with the president of the Republic and thus spat in the face of 2.3 million citizens who voted for Vucic. And then they spat in the face of all the citizens of this country and trampled on the Constitution," said Brnabic.

She also stated that the protesters refused an open dialogue in front of media that Vucic recently called for, after being given a chance to choose three or four representatives and discuss programs, plans and visions.

"But instead they're running to Brussels and Strasbourg, this time to ask for sanctions," said Brnabic.

She added that these are the same people who bragged about getting the previous European Parliament to pass a resolution which asked the European Commission for complete abolition of Serbia's sovereignty.

"By having the European Commission send its representatives who would go from house to house and ask our citizens where they live, when they moved, how many people there are in their households, where they receive medical treatment, and in that way see if the voter list is valid or not, and for that to be done by foreigners who would actually check whether someone here has the right and why they have the right to vote in the place A or the place B," said Brnabic.

She added that when the government proposes that the institutions of Serbia do this, the opposition does not agree. According to the National Assembly president, these political forces are not really concerned with the voter list, but rather with abolishing Serbia's sovereignty and institutions.

Brnabic said that the state is fighting each day to make sure Serbia is not halted and that today she will have discussions with Korean investors who will visit the Lozionica Creative and Innovation Center.

"Imagine if we were all under sanctions. Who would they talk to, would they even come to Serbia? The president of the Republic is fighting to have Jackie Chan after Usain Bolt as an EXPO ambassador who will promote Serbia in the whole world, and at the same time they (the opposition) are fighting to have sanctions imposed against President Vucic," Brnabic said.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)