Vučić welcomes Serbian firefighters: "You fearlessly saved lives of our friends"; "Thank you for your courage"

Vučić was briefed by Davor Vidović, the leader of the Ministry of the Interior team that had been deployed in Spain. Also attending the welcome ceremony were Police Director Dragan Vasiljević, Spanish Ambassador Juan José Sanz Aparicio, and Namibia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Lucia Iipumbu.

Members of Serbia’s Emergency Situations Sector and the Ministry of the Interior’s Helicopter Unit took part in efforts to extinguish the wildfires that had ravaged parts of Spain for days, participating in operations with a Super Puma helicopter.

Their deployment was part of an international assistance effort to combat the wildfires that had affected several regions of the Kingdom of Spain in recent days.

“Dear members of the Emergency Situations Sector, the writer Jovan Dučić once observed that courage is not the absence of fear, but victory over it. In a friendly country, you protected something that belongs to all of us — human life — and for that I thank you. Our Spanish friends accepted our offer of assistance, and 40 of you were deployed there. You came from Belgrade, Niš, Smederevo, and other parts of Serbia to save lives. You worked shoulder to shoulder with your Spanish colleagues, successfully containing the fires and preventing the flames from reigniting. Thank you for that, and thank you for your dedication,” Vučić said.

He emphasized that the government had worked to acquire more firefighting vehicles, aware that, given the current global situation, the country would face an increasing number of wildfires.

“Thank you for your determination, for being exceptional, and for putting yourselves at risk every single day. You have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. I promise that we will continue to take care of your livelihoods, your well-being and that of your families, while also providing better working conditions and better firefighting equipment. Thank you for your courage, and thank you for your dedication,” Vučić said.

Those gathered were then addressed by Interior Minister Ivica Dačić, followed by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain, Juan José Sanz Aparicio.

“It is difficult when your country is struck by wildfires that you realize you cannot extinguish on your own. But when you witness the solidarity of friends who are ready to stand and fight alongside you, that pain gradually fades and hope grows. In Spain, we feel immense gratitude toward you, gentlemen. Thank you very much for your assistance,” the Spanish ambassador said.

“So that you understand how difficult this was for these people, they traveled for 29 hours in these vehicles to reach Spain. The crews traveling by helicopter spent eight and a half hours in the air. It was not easy—not at all,” Vučić added.

Vučić then answered several questions from reporters.

He commented on coverage of him in regional media.

“If you look at the headlines, I’m on all of the front pages. I suppose they find that interesting—they have to write about someone important since they don’t have anyone important of their own. I spoke with both the former and the current president of Montenegro, as well as the current prime minister, and I told them: do not humiliate the Serbian people by attending the celebration of ‘Operation Storm.’ Their problem is not that an innocent boy was killed during ‘Operation Storm’; their problem is that I pointed it out,” Vučić said.

Regarding Volodymyr Zelensky’s upcoming visit, he said that Serbia has good relations with Ukraine and no issues with the country. He also recalled welcoming former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to Serbia.

Vučić also addressed criticism from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Defense Minister Zukan Helez.

“I thank him for every word he has spoken. As for the fact that they monitored my every move, I thank them for that as well. They can use it to teach younger generations how the president of a serious country conducts himself during a visit to another country. It would not have been difficult to arrest me, but I went because I knew they would do nothing to me, since they had been lying the whole time,” Vučić said.

“The problem is that you have been lying for two years about the ‘Sarajevo Safari,’ and you too, Mr. Helez. One of the reasons I came was to show them that. Apparently, you know better than I do what I did and did not do. You know, while I do not,” he added.