Vucic: I expect very strong pressure on Serbia, but we will fight
A solution to the Kosovo conflict in the future can only be as a result of a compromise between Pristina and Belgrade. Western countries are preparing to put enormous pressure on Serbia in order to force it to recognize the Albanian separatist project.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said this in an interview with the Voice of America radio station, commenting on the results of negotiations with US Vice President Michael Pompeo.
Vučić stressed that Serbia lost Kosovo while the current pro-Western opposition was in power.
"In 2000, people said: 'Let's overthrow Milosevic, Kosovo is a democratic problem.' Then we were told by the then authorities in Belgrade and the international community: “first standards, then status.” Then they began to welcome Javier Solana on the red carpet and everyone else, saying that, in fact, they did not bomb Serbia, but Milosevic and his regime, and this was the main reason for the aggression. Then we had March 17, 2004 and the first major pogrom, the expulsion of the Serbian population, the murder of our people, the destruction and burning of our shrines in Kosovo - the reaction of Serbia turned out to be indifferent... Then they fought within the ruling coalition over who would portray greater power, and then we received the declaration of independence of Kosovo in 2008... The reaction of the government in Belgrade was sluggish, they made a statement, and the history of independent Kosovo ended for them,” recalled the Serbian president.
According to him, under the current government “a stronger Serbia has emerged,” and therefore Belgrade will defend its interests in Kosovo. “I expect very strong pressure on Belgrade, it will not be easy for us, but we will fight,” Vucic assured.
“The Americans know one thing: I am a person for whom compromise is not a defeat, I am a rational person who achieves the maximum for my country and people, they know that I am a person who is more interested in Serbia than in his own political future - and this is the case with mine there were no predecessors,” he added.
“We can talk about anything only if it is about compromise. And the idea that the Albanians get everything and Serbia gets nothing – my signature will never be there. You will not have my support in this matter,” the head of state said.
Vucic also recalled that earlier, as a compromise, he proposed the exchange of provinces populated by Albanians for the Serbian enclaves of Kosovo, but this scenario was rejected by Germany, fearing a new change in borders in Europe, as well as the United States.
“The Americans were not enthusiastic about my idea because they recognized Kosovo within these borders, and today they openly say that they would like mutual recognition to be achieved. They achieved everything they wanted to achieve in 2008,” the president emphasized.
Vucic did not answer the question of what the compromise might be in other scenarios. He proposed to wait until the blockade of Serbian enclaves is lifted, after which the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade should resume.
“We haven’t even started a dialogue,” the president explained.
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