Vucic Believes NATO Will Never Apologize for Dropping Bombs on then Yugoslavia

Aleksandar Vucic (BETAPHOTO/HINA/Damir SENCAR/DS)

President Aleksandar Vucic has told a Czech media outlet he does not expect NATO to ever officially or directly apologize for the 1999 air strikes on then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, adding that a constant in the U.S. policy is to demand from Serbia to recognize Kosovo as an independent state.

“They will keep saying that they did the best possible thing and that they only wished to prevent a humanitarian disaster. If there is any truth in that, I have to ask was the killing of thousands of people, particularly 72 Serbian children, was only ‘collateral damage’ or what it was? I do not believe that NATO will ever offer any sort of official apology,” Vucic said in an interview published by Czech alternative portal Parlamentní listy on May 25.

Vucic further said the apology recently offered by his Czech counterpart Milos Zeman for not finding the courage as then Czech prime minister to oppose the 1999 air strikes, due to which NATO, applying consensus decision-making, had received the go-ahead from then Czech government, represented “a wound healing balm” and would be included in history textbooks in Serbia.  

Vucic further said he expected no change in the approach to Serbia or Kosovo from the Joe Biden administration in the U.S.

“Washington has recognized Kosovo’s independence and does not wish to abandon that direction. Understandably, the U.S. will continue to exert pressure on Serbia, but I should not be speaking about pressure, but rather about the demand to Belgrade to recognize Kosovo’s independence. But, this is a category of the U.S. foreign policy that has remained unchanged and I am not expecting any changes in relation to Serbia,” Vucic stressed.