Vucic says he expects nothing from EU-Western Balkans summit

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Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday that he expects nothing from the European Union – Western Balkans summit.

He said he is in Brussels to talk to European friends on the future of Serbia and the region. He said that no one can blackmail and pressure free and independent states. “We are here among friends. I believe in the European future of Serbia and the Western Balkans. We will fight together on that path… The claims that we are scared and very small while others are very big are tall tales,” the Serbian state TV (RTS) reported him as saying.

Vucic said he was ready to respond to criticism over Belgrade’s failure to impose sanctions on Russia.

The Serbian President said on Wednesday that he would speak live via his Instagram profile but instead he posted a message to the public apologizing and saying that his phone is out of order. “I apologize to everyone. Believe it or not, my phone doesn’t work for the first time, the microphone is not operational and I will speak on important issues tomorrow… The thing I can promise to people in Serbia is that we will fight for our country. Surrender is not an option,” he wrote.

Vucic decided to attend the summit at the last moment after days of uncertainty. He said on Wednesday that he decided to attend the summit following consultations with the Serbian government and his advisers and with his partners in the Open Balkan Initiative, Prime Ministers Edi Rama and Dimitar Kovacevski of Albania and North Macedonia.