Analysis of the News: “President Vučić: The West, worried about the progress of the Russian army, is putting pressure on Serbia”

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President Vučić: The West, worried about the progress of the Russian army, is putting pressure on Serbia

https://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/606565/UZIVO-Predsednik-Vucic-se-obraca-narodu-video

In one of his daily addresses, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, as Belgrade’s Politika writes, spoke about “topics of the greatest national and state importance”. The president began his address by asserting that the Serbian people are paying a high price due to the general situation in the world and that the most critical issue for Serbia is “everything that is happening as well as the potential membership of the so-called of Kosovo in the Council of Europe”. The address is full of anti-Western narratives that dominate Serbian media as well.

Vučić sees Kosovo’s membership in the CoE, which is not new and which he verbally agreed to by accepting the agreement in Ohrid, as “pressure on the Serbian people due to military neutrality, the attitude towards the conflict in Ukraine, and the third reason is that Western countries feel great pressure due to the progress of Russian strength and uncertainty about ending the war in Ukraine”. According to Vučić, the West is additionally burdened by the fact that Moscow refers to the Kosovo precedent. Vučić ironically says that they punished Pristina by wanting to let them into the Council of Europe.

The President of Serbia did not say that Kosovo’s path to CoE is uncertain and may take time because Pristina needed to meet all three necessary criteria. He also did not say that in Article 4 of the Ohrid Agreement, Serbia undertook not to oppose Kosovo’s membership in any international organization.

On the subject of Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, the President of Serbia referred to the UN resolution on Srebrenica. According to him, Western countries will try to compensate for their support to Israel in the war against the majority Muslim Palestinians through Srebrenica”. The President also said that the purpose of such a resolution was to abolish Republika Srpska.

The President refers to the resolution declaring July 11 as the International Day of Remembrance of the Genocide in Srebrenica. The draft resolution calls for unreserved condemnation of any denial of the genocide in Srebrenica and encourages UN members to preserve facts and develop appropriate programs through their educational systems to prevent revisionism and genocide in the future. The initiators of the resolution are Germany and Rwanda, and the motive for the resolution, besides Srebrenica, is also the genocide in Rwanda.

Although it was already known that the adoption of such a resolution was on the agenda, the authorities in the Republic of Serbia and Serbia brought this issue up to date at the end of March. For the President of Serbia, Western countries want to put Serbia in a difficult situation with this resolution.

“With all those stories and fairy tales, it is our duty to say clearly and unequivocally what is happening and what is happening.” We will have the West against us, as well as a significant number of Islamic countries. There is nothing that makes you prouder than leading a wonderful country like Serbia in a sovereign and libertarian way. We will fight, even though we are small. All these powers are against us,” Vučić said, spreading the well-rooted narrative that the big Western powers are against small Serbia, which wants to lead a libertarian and independent policy.

Ten days later, the President of Serbia travelled to France, which supported Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe and the resolution on Srebrenica. During that visit, the President of Serbia announced the purchase of French fighter planes – Rafale.

Autor: Sofija Popović