"The situation is unstable; Vucic was forced to react promptly"

"The situation is unstable; Vucic was forced to react promptly"

He will discuss Saturday in Belgrade with Serbs from Montenegro and Republika Srpska how he can help them.

Brnabic said that Vucic invited Serbs from Montenegro and Republika Srpska to come to Belgrade to discuss it and that the state of Serbia would strive to continue calling for peace and stability.

"Vucic will talk to them on Saturday on how best to help and support them, but also how we can try to further calm the situation in the region, this is least appropriate for us," said Brnabic, answering a journalist's question about how she sees the situation in Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, pertaining to the raising tensions in the region.

She said she would not attend that meeting on Saturday since she is due to travel to a Security Forum in Munich. "We will try again to call for peace and stability, but without compromising the rights of the Serbs anywhere in the region, which, you must admit, are presently threatened. What is happening should not be happening," Brnabic said.

She said we should deal with these issues diplomatically, in a cautious way. She said on more than one occasion that what was happening in the region was least appropriate for Serbia, as the country had gone through difficult reforms and achieved economic growth of 4.4 percent and 4.2 percent for the past two years.

"We see a completely different image of Serbia and in order to continue to grow, we need a stable region", Brnabic said, pointing out that this is a small region in which every instability is reflected in our country.

Then fewer people want to invest, and President Vucic has been working to boost our country's credibility for years, the prime minister said. "Any instability in the region can jeopardize our speedy development. That is why both the president and I strive for all the signals we give to be moderate and balanced, continuing to build stability rather than instability. We try to be responsible and protect our people wherever they are. It is our constitutional committment and duty, and we believe we do it in the best way", Prime Minister concluded.

She added that that is why Vucic will speak with Serbs from Montenegro and Republika Srpska to see how he can support them and how we can try to calm the situation in the region.

"When you are not doing enough in the area of reform, it is easiest way to play the card of nationalist conflict, thus encouraging instability, and claiming that it is because of the political situation," Brnabic said, adding that it was exactly the case for some in the region. On the other hand, Serbia plays the card of stability and balance, not because we have a big heart, and we do have it, but because it is in the interest of our citizens, the Prime Minister pointed out.