Vucic admits he was wrong to call MEPs scum, then says he thinks far worse of them

A group of representatives from five Serbian opposition parties, who spoke to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday about the current political situation in Serbia, called for sanctions against President Aleksandar Vucic and other high-ranking state officials.

Appearing on Prva TV, Vucic aid that the opposition had gone too far and that their demand for sanctions against government officials was actually aimed against the state and its people.

According to him, opposition representatives lack a plan, platform, and ideas.

The Serbian President admitted he was probably wrong to call the Members of the European Green Party “scum” after they attended a student protest in Novi Sad, but then went on to say he thinks far worse of them.

“They say I insulted them because I called them scum. To be completely honest – I think much worse of them. But was I wrong to call them by such a name? Probably, yes – a head of state should not use that word in public discourse,” Vucic said.

According to him, they came to participate “in violent demonstrations, to carry out violence in another country, and after that, they lied and misled the public about what happened.”

Vucic claims that everyone saw what happened at that protest and who attacked whom, asserting that police officers stood peacefully and endured attacks at the protest in Novi Sad before intervening.

Commenting on the situation in the region, he assessed that Serbia will face major problems, such as the formation of military alliances in the region.

Regarding criticism from MEPs for meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in China, Vucic said that many do not understand that Serbia needs to have gas this year.

“I may or may not like Putin or Russia, and to be completely hones, I have nothing against them, just as I have nothing against any country in the world, but I must take care of the Serbian people. Our citizens must have enough gas, our factories must have enough gas, we must have enough electricity this winter,” the President said.

According to him, it is the West’s job to criticize his meetings with the presidents of Russia and China, but the West also has enough gas and electricity.

“We don’t. We have oil, which we only get through one channel – Janaf, which the Europeans can always cut off for us. And we have a Russian refinery – NIS,” Vucic said.