Vuletić for Geopost: Serbia has political scoundrels on both sides, partners in the West see that clearly

Serbia started to change its European future 4-5 years ago, Zoran Vuletić, president of the Civic Democratic Forum, said in an interview with The Geopost, commenting that Serbia and China raised their relations from “the level of strategic partnership to the level of a common future”. .

“This was especially evident 2.5 years ago, now almost from the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, when Serbia is one of, I can’t even say, the few European countries, but along with Belarus, the only one that actively and practically supports that aggression against Ukraine, and these are just the continuation of that political decision that is visible to everyone, especially to our partners in the West”.

Vuletić states that the EU sees that this is clearly close to the maximum or maybe even the maximum capacity of Serbian society in this process of joining and in the process of normalizing relations.

We cannot, he states, observe the relationship of the EU towards Serbia only through the relationship towards the authorities.

“The opposition got quite a chance, especially after last year’s elections, when the EU decisively helped this part of the opposition, I’m talking about ‘Serbia against violence’, to hold new elections.

He points out that they had the opportunity through several panels in the European Parliament and through contact in the European Commission, to address the Bundestag and present, among other things, their political position, and not just to describe the situation in Serbia.

“I think the opposition gambled and missed that chance,” Vuletić states, stressing that the opposition did not refer to at least two more resolutions concerning Serbia, which were passed by the European Parliament in the previous six months.

“One was related to Serbia’s relationship with Russia, and the other was after the terrorist act in Banjska, when Milan Radojicic, allegedly, without the knowledge of the state, organized everything he organized.”

In Serbia, he believes, it is clear to all politicians that Serbia lost all wars in the 1990s.

“And now all the negotiations we are having are practically 20-year negotiations on the succession. We have, I will say freely, political scoundrels on both sides who lie and manipulate the Serbian people, primarily in order to keep them in the role of hostages in the north of Kosovo, evil Serbian policies, both towards the Serbian community in Kosovo, and towards Kosovo as a whole”.

On the occasion of the announced Serbian parliament after the adoption of the resolution on Srebrenica at the UN, Vuletić states that “it will be another manifestation or let’s say a new round of complaining about the defeats of our own policy”.

 Full interview:

The Geopost: During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Belgrade, China and Serbia raised relations from “strategic partnership to the level of a community of shared future”. Does this mean that Serbia is exchanging the European future for China’s?

Vuletić: Vuletić: I would say that Serbia started to change its future 4-5 years ago, and this was especially evident 2.5 years ago, almost from the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, when Serbia is one of, I can’t even I say that it is among the few European countries, besides Belarus, the only one that actively practically supports this aggression against Ukraine, and these are just the continuation of that political decision that is visible to everyone, especially to our partners in the West.

So I am absolutely not surprised by this, such a visit and the effects of such a visit and the results that in the not-so-distant future we will begin to pay very dearly for, because the loans we contract and the business arrangements we contract with China through an intergovernmental agreement that made it practically possible to the Serbian authorities to negotiate all infrastructure projects privately with Chinese state-owned companies, where the Chinese side absolutely does not disclose any clear conditions – how it will be spent, whether public procedures will be implemented, they are absolutely not interested in whether the feasibility and justification studies of those projects have been done, they are only interested in placing as much of their money as possible, placing as many loans as possible through Serbia and credit arrangements, and that is their clear interest.

It is clearly in their interest that they practically need a training ground and the soft underbelly of Europe, and Serbia has positioned itself as someone who wants it, as someone who can do it best at the moment, because it is absolutely at a loss in its foreign policy and does not understand the time and the world in which it lives.

So, I think that the interests of the Chinese state, which wants to enter Europe, have coincided, and I think that the situation is ideal for the Chinese state as far as Serbia and Serbian relations with the EU are concerned.

Here (in Serbia), for example, analysts and some people mention, we hear in our media, how China has much more significant projects with Hungary. That is true, but it is a member of the European Union and Hungary cannot realize all those loans and all those business arrangements with China in the same way that Serbia can.

I think that for China and for our government, here as it is, the ideal conditions are just like this, for Serbia to be on the European path and to never be or become a member of the EU, but to remain on the eternal European path, and that is the best interest of China and the best interest of, for example, the current people in power in Serbia, so that they can fill their private pockets on the one hand, and on the other hand, enable China to have a presence in Europe in the manner and to the extent that China wants.

The Geopost: At the same time, the European Union persistently sends money to Serbia without any conditions.

Vuletić: I am sure that the EU is not keeping its eyes closed, but the EU has understood, I think very well, who it is dealing with.

I think the EU sees that this is clearly close to the maximum or maybe even the maximum capacity of Serbian society both in this process of joining and in the process of normalizing relations.

So, when the EU makes an analysis of Serbia, it does it much deeper and much more broadly. We cannot observe the relationship of the EU towards Serbia only through the relationship towards the authorities.

The EU and EU officials have an obligation to, some will say cooperate, some will say build relations with Serbia, with whom else but most often with the people who are in power.

But I must say that our opposition also has a great obligation in the political system that exists in Serbia. The opposition got quite a chance, especially after last year’s elections, when the EU decisively helped this part of the opposition, I’m talking about “Serbia against violence”, to have new elections, that Vučić must call new elections for Belgrade, because this is the result of pressure both from the EU and internal pressure from the opposition.

How do I connect it all? I am connecting with the fact that the opposition got the opportunity on several panels in the European Parliament first of all. And through contact in the European Commission, and through the opportunity to address, for example, the Bundestag in Germany, to present, among other things, their political position, and not only to describe the situation in Serbia and to describe in what way Vučić manipulated the elections from December 17th. I think that the opposition gambled and missed that chance, I mean, those people who were and represented the opposition of Serbia in those institutions at these meetings, had the capacity to understand that the EU expected much more than what they said there.

Being on the panel and talking before the voting, for example, of the resolution of the European Parliament which notes the manipulations in the elections and asks for a re-run, and not to note from our side, from the opposition side, Pavle Grbović was there, Marinika Tepić was there… They didn’t say a single word about at least two other resolutions that concerned Serbia, which were passed by the European Parliament in the previous six months.

One was related to Serbia’s relationship with Russia, and the other was after the terrorist act in Banjska, when Milan Radojicic, allegedly, without the knowledge of the state, organized everything he organized.

Our opposition did not say a single word about those two resolutions, which are equally important, not to say perhaps even more important than the one they hoped on those panels that the European Parliament would adopt.

So, the Europeans did not get enough arguments from our opposition that our opposition wants to approach the EU in a more comprehensive, serious political way.

And that’s why I’m not surprised, the continuation and a little easing of that European pressure on Aleksandar Vučić and the SNS regime, when it concerns all our issues.

The Geopost: Serbia steels friendship with China, a government was formed in which prominent Russophiles advocates of the Serbian world are prominent, the president of Serbia does not hide that he hopes for a change in geopolitical conditions, a victory for Trump in the USA, which will enable him to retake part or all of Kosovo, possibly the BH entity Republika Srpska. Does Serbia have the courage to engage in such a thing?

Vuletić: I think you are absolutely right, what Aleksandar Vučić and our government want. I think that the largest percentage of our opposition wishes the same, and I don’t see much potential for them to lead a different policy compared to Vučić, unfortunately.

However, I have to say and I think the simplest answer is to quote our famous lawyer Sead Spahović, who said in one of the recent interviews that ‘it is true that Serbia has more and more weapons and is arming itself, but Serbia no longer has people and no army which would fight for Kosovo’.

I would just add that an additional reason for that is because it is clear to everyone here in Serbia that Serbia lost all the wars of the 1990s, and especially to all politicians, such as Aleksandar Vučić, Miloš Vučević, Vojislav Šešelj, it is equally clear and Dragan Đilas, and Miroslav Aleksić and Radomir Lazović and Nebojš Zelenović, that Serbia lost Kosovo in the 1999 war and that this is a permanent fact.

And now all the negotiations we have are practically 20-year negotiations on succession. We also have, I will say freely, political scoundrels on both sides who lie and manipulate the Serbian people, primarily in order to keep them in the role of hostages in the north of Kosovo, evil Serbian policies, both towards the Serbian community in Kosovo, and towards Kosovo in to the whole and thus to its own citizens in Serbia.

The Geopost: An all-Serbian parliament was announced after the adoption of the UN Resolution on the genocide in Srebrenica. What to expect?

Vuletić: It will be another of the manifestations or let’s say a new round of people complaining about the defeats of their own politics.

Because Aleksandar Vučić, Ivica Dacić, they were one of the leaders of Serbian politics in the 1990s, which experienced a political, economic, military and moral defeat.

So, what can we expect from that parliament, except let’s say similar speeches as we had the opportunity to hear them this year in Prijedor at the commemoration of the anniversary of “Storm” or a couple of years ago on the Drina bridge between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, on the same occasion.

Like, for example, Porphyry’s, our patriarch’s, practically political speech in the Easter epistle, which was permeated with some minor religious platitudes so that he, too, could further mislead and serve the naive Serbs.

Because I have to add, since the Serbian Orthodox Church is a very big actor in our politics and the SPC has the possibility and the exclusive right to institutionally cross the borders of our country, and they, abusing their faith, cross into Montenegro, cross into Bosnia and Herzegovina, and so on to Kosovo.

And they do not deal with religious issues there, nor do they promote tolerance, nor do they promote love, nor do they promote any universal values ​​that would be suitable for a religious organization.

Absolutely not. And that is why they are not popular in Serbia. They are popular in Serbia and enjoy the highest trust of Serbian citizens for decades, because they are the ultra-carriers of nationalist ideology and have been the beating fist of Serbian politics since the 1990s, and today this is only adapted to the new times in which we live.

/The Geopost