“Some people in the political opposition have long since lost any connection with Serbia’s interests, and the only thing they’re after is for everything to go to ruin, for Vučić and Dačić to be ruined so that they could take power. As a citizen and as a Cabinet member, I can only be happy with how President Vučić represents us during these difficult times, because I know very well from many conversations that I took part in how darn hard it is!“
This is how in his interview with Kurir Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić commented on the recent negotiations held in Ohrid. He also revealed more about the current relationship between him and President Aleksandar Vučić following the inter-party tensions that they had, how much not imposing sanctions against Russia costs us, the hypocrisy of certain Western countries, as well as why he would not prefer for snap parliamentary election to be called.
An agreement was recently reached in Ohrid between Belgrade and Priština regarding Kosovo and Metohija. The opposition parties both in Belgrade – specifically, the right-wing ones – and in Priština have slammed it. What does that tell us? In objective terms, can we be happy with what we have achieved?
“All these years, a difficult fight has been taking place to defend everything that we find the most important – our sovereignty and territorial integrity. The fact that the agreements have been slammed by some opposition members here shouldn’t be the yardstick to determine whether we’ve done a good thing or not. These people have long since lost any connection with Serbia’s interests, because they’re only interested in everything going to ruin, leaving them with a glimmer of hope of taking power. Each and every one of them, in their non-stop TV appearances, has had the opportunity to do something for Serbia and for Kosovo as its part. And what did they do? They ran away from the problem, and even worked directly against Serbia’s interests. Every one of them ought to have been doing back in their heyday what President Vučić is doing now, but they didn’t have the guts or the responsibility towards their country.”
It appears that Europe and the US have finally truly decided to force Kurti to implement the CSM and the Brussels Agreement. Is the balance of power and the inclination of the Western powers slowly moving in our favour, or can we expect additional pressures and blackmails?
“None of them will change their position on Kosovo – it would be silly for us to expect that from the US, Germany, France, or anyone in the West who has recognized Kosovo. What they’re doing is changing their attitude towards the problem, and that is good and useful for Serbia. We have made them change their view on the problem because we had strong arguments, because we’ve been persistent, patient, and – most importantly – because we told them what our position was directly, and have repeated it countless times, never trying to say one thing to them and another thing to our citizens. They have clarity about us, because it’s not easy for them to deal with us either, but they do respect that. This is effective because Serbia, unlike the government in Priština, has always been a fair and responsible participant in the conversations. Once we made this sort of situation possible, we ourselves are seen in a different light – the respect we get is great, and this is why we’re in a position to achieve our interests, and that’s the only thing that matters.”
Is revoking the recognition of Kosovo planned for any other country?
“All we can do now is put in efforts to make sure we get the best solutions for Serbia and our people in Kosovo. We don’t wish anything to stand in the way of that goal. At the moment, a large majority of 106 UN member states do not recognize Kosovo as a state, 84 do, and three states don’t have a clear position. This is a strong argument for our side in the talks, especially as an indicator of the justifiability of our position that Priština should not have a seat in the UN.”
How hard has it been to not give in to the pressure regarding not imposing sanctions against Russia? What has Serbia lost, and what has it gained doing so?
“This is our principled position and the position of the National Security Council, laid down last year. Serbia fully respects the principles of international law, i.e. the territorial integrity and sovereignty of every country, including Ukraine. That said, we are not imposing sanctions against Russia because of our own interests, which are, among other things, the protection of our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Besides, we oppose the sanctions against anyone because we ourselves have had that unjust experience and know what it means. Secondly, it is in our interest and in the interest of our economy not to impose sanctions against Russia, and that decision was made back in March last year. We have always said, as we do now, that we will monitor how this decision affects our economy, and we’ve left open the possibility that it be changed if our economy and our citizens start to suffer irreparable damage. Since the decision is still in effect, that means that we don’t have that scenario yet. It is true that Serbia hasn’t imposed sanctions against Russia and, on top of the great pressure put on it, I must point out that the scope of international trade between Serbia and Russia has decreased, while it has increased in some of the countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia. Many Western countries aren’t fair to Serbia because, according to some reports, they have increased their trade with Russia during the sanctions.”
On his coalition colleague: ‘I responded immediately to Basta’s statement’
Minister of Economy Rade Basta, a member of United Serbia, which is your closest coalition partner, has recently put out a public statement that sanctions against Russia should be imposed. Did he consult with anyone about that move, what were the reactions within the party, and are you familiar with his idea of founding his own movement?
“I responded immediately, and let me say this again today – myself personally, as well as my party and all our Cabinet members, stand by the decision of the National Security Council and the national policy. For as long as our decision and our policy regarding the sanctions is in effect, we will respect it fully.”
What is the current situation regarding the relationship between the Progressives and the Socialists, in light of the “crisis” that you had after the parliamentary session on Kosovo? We all remember that there were some harsh words about you personally, as well as about the Socialist Party, coming from some of your colleagues from the Progressive Party.
“The relationship between our two parties is at its highest level, as is appropriate for two biggest political parties, both in the ruling coalition and, more generally, on the political scene. We are responsible people –Vučić and myself have been in politics for a long time and are responsible in doing our jobs. We work together every day on very important matters concerning our country and our citizens. No one gives us the right to engage in partisanship or to be preoccupied with petty arguments as we are solving the Kosovo issue and the very tense situation in the world that affects us too – i.e. while we have so many important things to attend to.”
You have given your support to Vučić’s idea about starting a National Movement. Have you had any concrete talks with him about it? If the Socialist Party joins the movement, are you afraid you might lose your identity? What do your party colleagues think about it?
“I have supported this idea. I did so because it suits something that Vučić and myself had talked about many times before – how to find a model that would ensure the broadest support, even unity, regarding our country’s most important issues. We’ve been in a coalition for years, a coalition that gets an enormous amount of trust from the citizens in every election, which means that the policy we are implementing is widely supported. We have given our support to Vučić as a presidential candidate twice, which we see as our common success. During the previous elections, I proposed making a common electoral list. The movement in question can be a new, higher phase of our collaboration, and I accept it because in order to make important decisions, we need an alliance which will gather even the people who are not in politics, but do support and fight for Serbia. This is not about merging one party with the other at all – that is brought up only by our opponents, but I will have to disappoint them.”
Every so often, the idea of a possible snap election in the spring resurfaces, as well that of putting the electoral threshold back to five percent. What are the chances that a new election takes place?
“We will have the scheduled province election in Vojvodina and the scheduled local elections in the spring. We are getting ready for them, as they are important and as we take all elections very seriously. As for the parliamentary election, I have always advocated a full term in office of both the Parliament and the Government because this provides room for thorough work and good decisions. That said, if there is a political will to have the election earlier, no problem, the Socialist Party will run and get excellent results.”
You said in a recent statement made in Zagreb that Croatia and Serbia should compete in building peace and good relations rather than in hatred, and that all open questions are resolved through dialogue. Nonetheless, we have seen ourselves that a Croatian MP started a conference at the very heart of the EP on the infamous Cardinal Stepinac, despite the opposition from the Serbian side. Is this a bad sign for the normalization of the relations between the two countries?
“It is a message that doesn’t align with what I said in Zagreb, and especially with what I heard in Zagreb from the Croatian authorities. Could it be that the EP really has nothing more important to do than to host a conference at which history is revised? What do these people actually do? We in Serbia and the region know very well what role Stepinac played in the ISC concerning the persecution and genocide of Serbs. But I did expect that the Croatian state, its Government, Parliament, and President would respond to the initiatives of their MPs in the EP, and say whether they really do think that it is step that brings us closer. It won’t bring us closer, but why they do that is something they themselves should explain.”
On the party: ‘We will elect Socialist Party vice-presidents soon’
Why have you not announced the names of the new Socialist Party vice-presidents yet? In your last interview, you said that it would happen soon, but it has not happened yet. When will you elect them?
“The Socialist Party works harmoniously and firing from all cylinders, and nominating vice-presidents doesn’t disrupt that. I too have had a great deal of work and travel to do as a Cabinet minister, as have my friends who are party executives and Cabinet members or MPs. As a result, we have been committed more to the duties of the state than to our party obligations. But that remains the only open element in forming our party bodies following the convention, and I’m sure that we will close it very fast.”
(Kurir.rs/Jelena Pronić)
