Vucic: We Count of Russia’s Support on International Stage, They Can Count on Us, Too

Aleksandar Vucic (Beta/Milos Miskov)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Dec. 4 ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi that Serbia’s relations with Russia are friendly and brotherly and that if Serbia can count on anyone’s support on the international stage, it is on Russia’s, adding that “they can count on us”, too.

“In the times that are all but easy, [exposed to] enormous pressures to join positions [aimed] against Russia, we succeeded in preserving independence in making decisions because we do not stab our friends in the back,” Vucic said in an interview with TV Happy.

He added that Putin always had understanding for Serbia, which can be seen from the number of their encounters, and that he had never conditioned cooperation between the two countries.

“He even told me, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t do this and that and get yourself into a difficult position, I know what sort of pressure you’re exposed to’,” Vucic also said.

The president emphasized that Serbia needs to cooperate with both the EU and Russia, although that is difficult and would not make everyone happy. “Some Europeans have asked me why am I traveling to meet with Putin. Well, that’s because you have to wait three hours in a line to see him, and I don’t,” Vucic also said and added that delegations from the West “are running after” Chinese representatives around the world only to meet them and talk about economic cooperation.

Speaking about Putin, Vucic said that the Russian president had succeeded in lifting up Russia into a “political giant” that is now being asked about almost all issues in the world, because of which some in the world do not like him.

Recalling that he first met with Putin in 2013, Vucic also said that Sochi had incredibly advanced and become wondrous. “They change, much like we do,” the president said.

He added that before, at the bank of the Sava in Belgrade, there was chaos, but that now it is becoming the “most modern” part of the city (Belgrade Waterfront), but also of Europe.