Vucic confirms he'll attend inauguration in Zagreb

Vucic confirms he'll attend inauguration in Zagreb

He told a news conference in Belgrade on Thursday that he "last night received the greatest number of negative messages since taking office."

"It is our job to make decisions in line with the interest of our state and citizens. Precisely in line with the interest of our people as a whole, those in Serbia and those outside its borders, this decision was made," said Vucic.

He stressed it was made after consultations with President Tomislav Nikolic, and with the desire "to show the whole world that Serbia is a normal country."

"Stability is more important that any personal or political vanity. We are not afraid of internal problems and we do not solve them by fanning the flames of hatred toward others, but with most difficult economic measures, for which we have received recognition from people from all over the world," he was quoted as saying.

Asked whether he "talked with representatives of the international community" before deciding to travel to Zagreb, Vucic said:

"Nobody dares either call me nor ask me whether I'm going or not."

He then added:

"That is not how Serbia is talked to. Nobody asked me, either, when I was the only one to respond to the EU in a way they did not like, when everyone jumped at me like vultures. My job is not to make easy decisions, because if that were the case, I should have been elected as president of the resident's council. Nobody talks to Serbia like that, we're a sovereign country."

The prime minister also noted that he "did talk to foreigners only if Tomislav Nikolic counts as a foreigner."

"I consulted only with him and that is good. If I consulted with friends, they would have told me, 'don't go,' while critics would have told me, 'go'," he said, and explained it was "impossible for Nikolic to travel to Zagreb on (the feast of) Sretenje" - i.e., Serbia's Statehood Day - considering he has obligations related to the holiday all day on February 15.

Vucic said he would take part in a wreath-laying ceremony in Belgrade and then go to Zagreb, where he will also visit the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Metropolitanate, and meet with Serbs from Croatia and one of their political representatives, Milorad Pupovac.

"We are going to Zagreb with a message of peace and cooperation. We want to improve our relations and we want to improve relations in the region for the good of both our own and the Croatian people," he said.

Vucic then observed that "many had wished for the Ukrainian scenario to play out during elections (in Serbia)," but Serbia was now "far away from that situation."

The prime minister stressed that the country "expects EU integrations to speed up and first (membership negotiations) chapters to be opened."

"Anything else would be disappointing to us. We played the best we could in Brussels, although when it comes to Kosovo the cards were dealt a long time ago and in the worst manner for us. We lost the least we had to and gained the most we could," he concluded.

During the same news conference, Vucic also announced he would visit Albania in late March, and again in late May, when he will take part in "a big economic forum," and confirmed that he discussed has supplies from the U.S. with that country's vice president.