Vucic: Only I didn't sign declaration in Kyiv. Gratitude to Zelensky for respecting territorial integrity

Photo: Tanjug/AP

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday in Kyiv, where he participated in the fifth Southeastern Europe - Ukraine summit, that he held three important meetings: with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Romanian President Nicusor Dan, and Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Jansa, and had a short conversation with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

Recommended

Vucic told reporters after the summit that he and Dan discussed "the increasingly strong cooperation between Serbia and Romania."

"We have this good relationship, not only of mutual respect, but also (supporting) the territorial integrity. Romania, as you know, did not recognize Kosovo, and neither did Ukraine, and they are very firm on that. Special thanks to President Zelensky for showing respect toward the territorial integrity of our country, which is very important for us," Vucic said, according to Tanjug.

He added that Serbia always adheres to the UN Charter and resolutions of the United Nations and respects territorial integrity.

Vucic said that he and Dan also spoke about the Djerdap 3 hydropower plant on the Danube.

"Tomorrow (Thursday), our minister is going to sign a memorandum of understanding regarding Djerdap 3. It's a huge investment that changes our future in many ways and gives us the capacity and the chance to cope with the increasing demands for huge amounts of electricity, especially in terms of balancing electricity. But, we finally managed to speed it up with the help of the United States, and if we manage to build it together with the Romanians, it's a great thing for all of us," said Vucic.

He added that they also discussed roads and added that within a few days, Serbia will receive Romania's answer to the question which route they want to connect Timisoara with Serbia - whether they want to go to Vatin and Vrsac or to Zrenjanin.

"We said: whatever they want, whichever section of the road they want to build, we will build a high-speed road at least up to that point; with this we will connect Banat with Romania, fully with Timisoara, and solve that," said Vucic.

He added that the Belgrade-Zrenjanin highway is being built in Serbia and said that "we are ready to fully build the Belgrade-Vrsac-Vatin high-speed road."

"We are ready to connect with Romania, we talked about more energy connections between Serbia and Romania," stated Vucic.

As for the declaration adopted at the summit, Vucic said, "I am the only one who did not put my signature on it. When you see the text, you will understand why."

"As for (EU official) Koopman, he is a top professional, he has helped Serbia. We will continue to work (toward EU accession), but our life does not depend on it. We have overtaken many countries in terms of economy and the standard of living. Merit is not always the only criterion (for membership). The six largest (EU) members said that we have met (the conditions to open Cluster 3). We shouldn't despair," Kurir quoted the president as saying.

"Regarding me not accepting reality. I'm not sure that the future is as bright as Edi Rama sees it, as far as the southern Serbian province (Kosovo) is concerned. I hope we will resolve everything peacefully."

This was Vucic's fifth participation in the summit.

"All anyone talks about is arming. Enthusiasm for Ukrainian drones and military power is noticeable."

Regarding an opinion poll published by CRTA, according to which the so-called student electoral list would receive 10 percent more votes than the ruling SNS, Vucic said:

"They will have to explain where the students lost their support. Remember this. They are doing this because they know it's their last chance to do something. So that they can carry out the idea of ​​violently overthrowing the constitutional order. They mistakenly believe that they will convince someone."

Vucic assessed that Minister Paunovic's statement (that she would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo and Metohija in 1998) was careless and irresponsible and added that it was neither his policy nor that of the Government of Serbia, Kurir reported.

"Our policy is peace, stability, no ethnic cleansing."

President Vucic participated in the Ukraine - Southeast Europe Summit and pointed out that he came to Kyiv to present Serbia's positions on all important issues, and that the focus of the gathering was EU integration, as well as concrete steps to strengthen economic stability and energy security.

"This summit is an opportunity to openly discuss all important issues and challenges we face. The presence of key European and regional decision-makers, whose influence directly shapes the future of Europe, gives special weight to these discussions," Vucic stated in a post on the Instagram account "buducnostsrbijeav".

He pointed out that the goal of his participation was to present Serbia's position.

"I came to Kyiv to present Serbia's positions on all important issues at this important moment, with gratitude to the Ukrainian hosts for their exceptional hospitality," Vucic said.

(Telegraf.rs)