Vucic: We want strategic partnership with the US, but Serbia is on the European continent

Photo: Tanjug/WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM/PASCAL BITZ

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said in Davos that an extended session of the Government will be held on Saturday and that he believes Serbia will fulfill two formal demands made by the US and be able to finally start talking about a strategic partnership with that country, but he pointed out that Serbia is located on the European continent.

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Vucic told RTS - when asked to comment on US president's envoy for special missions Richard Grenell stating on X that that Europe is in trouble and that he should follow the US, not the European path - that Grenell is a serious and responsible man and that he once liked his approach to solving problems in the Balkans by solving economic issues.

"I had a good conversation with (EU Commissioner) Marta Kos today (Wednesday), we spoke about Serbia's European path. Now if some new alternatives are imposed, the US economy is stronger, better, growing faster. We are on the European continent. You cannot show weakness and switch to a different direction when you face the first problem," added Vucic.

According to him, Serbia has the opportunity to accelerate its EU path to a significant extent.

"You know that I'm not someone who is overly optimistic, that I'm not someone who is a eurofanatic, but someone who is a realist and very pragmatic and who has always been guided above all by the interests of Serbia and our national and state interests. In all these difficult moments, I also see an opportunity for Serbia to present itself in a different light and that we could have an even more favorable position for our country in the international environment," Vucic said when asked where Serbia stands at the moment and how it will position itself in the current circumstances.

Vucic said that Serbia will preserve traditional friendships with China and Russia and pointed out that this will not be easy.

"I am ready to discuss these matters with our political opponents, too, to present my knowledge to them, because it will happen, I believe that in the next two or three months there will be some kind of cessation of the conflict in Ukraine. Not the permanent end of the war, the cessation of the conflict. One of the conditions set by Volodymyr Zelensky is that Ukraine becomes, and that this be part of the peace plan for Ukraine, for it to become a full member of the European Union from January 1, 2027," added Vucic.

The president of Serbia noted that this is a key condition for Zelensky to be able to somehow present the concessions to his people and that the EU must be considerate, but that there is significant opposition to all this within the bloc.

"Tomorrow (Thursday) the European Council is meeting. First, let's see what official position they will take, judging by the words of the Belgian prime minister and many others I met here, that position will be extremely harsh. Of course, some countries will try to oppose it and you will already see the rift emerging there, you could see that by who was present today and who was absent on purpose. So, a lot of things are getting decided about over the night," said President Vucic.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)