Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has told the Vienna daily Presse that “a single spark can ignite the whole region of the Western Balkans.”
“As the Serbian prime minister I don’t fear serious economic reforms, but I have a great fear of regional instability. A spark can ignite the whole region,” warned Vucic, adding that his greatest concern is the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
As for the summit on the Western Balkans that will be held in Vienna on Thursday, Vucic said that political support of Germany, Austria and the EU was necessary to ensure regional stability.
Stability can be stimulated by infrastructure projects which will be discussed in Vienna, Vucic was convinced.
“When we build a highway between Nis and Pristina, or railway between Sarajevo and Belgrade, Serbs and Bosnians must work together, and later sit together on the train. It brings people together, it is politically and psychologically important. Investors are welcome, but we do not need your money. If you help us with feasibility studies – thanks. We have enough money to finance projects. We have reduced our budget deficit below the Maastricht criteria and thus created more room,” said Vucic.
With regard to his initiative for reconciliation in the region by establishing a joint day of remembrance of the victims, Vucic said he was not disappointed that the proposal was rejected in Croatia and Bosnia and by Kosovo, adding he was “not expecting too much,” and that he “spoke about the victims, not the guilty ones, because there were innocent victims on all sides.”
“We can talk about everything, therefore also about aggressors. But that will not make agreement easier to reach. Who was the aggressor in Operation Storm in Croatia? Who expelled 300,000 Serbs from Croatia,” asked Vucic. He added that that “Serbia is the only country that is willing to talk about the role of the criminals” – which was why he was at the commemoration in Srebrenica.
The prime minister that “it is not a justification of political manoeuvres” and that “the one who is not brave enough for economic reforms rather is pointing out to the events from two decades ago.”
When the interviewer noted that he “at one point in his career changed his course,” Vucic “stressed this was “not a moment, but it was a process.”
“It is normal to change as one gets older. If people notice that someone is honest then they recognize it,” said Vucic, noting his “alleged call to protect General Ratko Mladic was taken out of context.”
He also “expressed readiness to talk with Germany and Austria about the accommodation of refugees” but was also “demanding EU’s support to overcome the refugee crisis in the Western Balkans.”
He stressed that the country needs greater support from the EU regarding asylum seekers.
“I’m not the type who whines and cries. If we get the support that’s good, and if not we will continue our work. The situation is not easy for us, but we treat refugees well. We have established a reception centre in Presevo, we will build one near Belgrade and one in Subotica,” Vucic said.
He pointed out that Serbia was “very disappointed that Hungary established a wall on our border,” saying it was reminiscent of “the past dark times.”
According to him, a small number of refugees decide to remain in Serbia “because it is still a poor country, and asylum seekers cannot earn as much and receive social benefits as in Germany or Austria.”
These, he said, are the main reasons – “although refugees are very satisfied with the treatment in Serbia.”
Commenting on a Human Rights Watch report that claimed refugees were mistreated by police officers and blackmailed, he said there was “one such case” and that two police officers had been arrested, something that is, according to him, “unique in Europe.”
When it comes to FYROM, he said that he “could not recognize any logic” behind the recent decision of Skopje to close its border with Greece for two days.
Asked “what he expected from FYROM,” Vucic said he did not expect much, and that “we need better mutual coordination.”
At the same time he said that Skopje was “rightly complaining about being left in the lurch.”
Vucic said he supports the five-point plan to solve the migrant crisis presented by Austrian FM Sebastian Kurz.
