President Aleksandar Vučić stated that he had very successful meetings in Odesa and thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for fully respecting the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of Serbia, as well as for the absence of Pristina’s representatives at the Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit.
Vučić emphasized that this was a great gesture towards Serbia and stated that Serbia would certainly appreciate it.
“We had very successful meetings here in Odesa. This is the fourth time I have attended the Southeast Europe-Ukraine summit, and the first time on Ukrainian territory. I thanked our Ukrainian hosts, President Zelensky, for fully respecting the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of Serbia. And there were no Pristina and Pristina’s representatives here,” said Vučić during his visit to Ukraine.
Before his bilateral meeting with Zelensky, Vučić said that they had already spoken and had a long conversation during lunch.
“We had both an open and closed session where we talked. I spoke with everyone else. I also had a short bilateral meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with the Croatian and Montenegrin prime ministers and presidents, as well as with the Bulgarian prime minister and the Romanian president,” Vučić said.
He stressed that they had genuinely good, open, and friendly conversations.
“We talked with Ukraine about important issues, because we need to resolve the issues of our trade relations and free trade agreements through the World Trade Organization. We started that in 2018, then paused during COVID-19, then continued, then paused due to the war. And now it is time to start working on that to provide a better space for our companies in Ukraine and vice versa, simply to contribute to economic growth in both friendly countries,” Vučić stated.
President Vučić said that he had not betrayed Russia, as some media in Serbia claim, and emphasized that he again did not sign the declaration, but that Serbia remained neutral.
“And what and whom did I betray? Russia? How? By coming to the summit? This is my fourth time at the Southeast Europe and Ukraine summit, and again I am the only one who did not accept the declaration. Unlike them, who would accept everything against Russia, everything they can,” Vučić said.
Vučić added that Serbia protects the interests of international public law, always guided by its own interests.
“I am proud of Serbia’s policy, of our autonomy, of our independence, and we will continue to do so,” Vučić said.
He noted that he knows many people in Serbia react emotionally against Ukraine and asked what bad Ukraine has done or what Ukraine has done against Serbia.
“Because Ukraine is a country that did not invite representatives of Pristina here. Are we obliged to say thank you for that? I think we are. And what should I criticize about that? Here, they allowed me to be here and to be neutral and not to sign, and for Serbia not to be a signatory to the declaration. What else do you ask for? Both from Ukraine and from us. What does someone actually want from Serbia’s policy? I think this is the peak that a small country can achieve in pursuing its independent policy. I am proud of that,” Vučić said.
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Source: RTS, Photo: Printscreen Instagram @buducnostsrbijeav