Vucic comments on protest in Backi Petrovac: Police are doing their job, don't make mountain out of molehill

Photo:Tanjug.rs

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke today from Backi Petrovac, a town in norther Serbia he visited together with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini.

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A joint meeting was held with representatives of the Slovak national minority in the province of Vojvodina.

"I am proud of Slovaks in Serbia who have always shown respect towards our country. I am grateful to Pellegrini for the Slovak community here always being supportive," said the president and added that they will look for ways to provide as much assistance as possible to all municipalities in Serbia where ethnic Slovaks live.

"We have agreed to build the Slovak House in Novi Sad, and it will not cost less than 6 to 7 million euros. Serbia will take it upon itself. I'm happy about that. Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting today. I thank the president of Slovakia, Pellegrini, for the visit and how much importance he attaches to brotherhood and friendship with the Serbian people," Vucic said and added that he hopes they would make progress.

100 meters from the municipality building, in a park, a peaceful protest by an informal group of citizens of Backi Petrovac was ongoing since 10:00 in the morning, parallel to another rally in support of the president, a situation Vucic has now commented on.

"The police do their work according to the top priority. They (protesters) felt it was important to be able to come and say that someone prevented them from doing something, but they received an official invitation to speak. I get it, making a mountain out of a molehill, but don't present them as something big and a gathering of a great force," Vucic said about the protest.

Vucic and Pellegrini were welcomed in front of the building by local leaders, headed by the mayor of the municipality, Viera Krstovski, together with the president of the provincial government of Vojvodina, Maja Gojkovic, as well as the residents of Backi Petrovac who carried flags of Serbia and Slovakia.

Presidents Vucic and Pellegrini were welcomed with bread and salt, presented by a boy in Serbian national costume and a girl in Slovak costume.

The president of Serbia will today also attend the ceremonial opening of a sports hall in Putinci, near Ruma.

The beginning of the event is at 18:00, the Presidency of Serbia has announced.

(Telegraf.rs)