Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic gave a video interview to the the Swiss German-language publication Die Weltwoche, posted on June 8, in which he discussed in stark terms the danger of global conflict the world currently faces. “The train has left the station, and no one can stop it,” he said, speaking in English. (Subtitling for this video was available in Serbian, German and English.) Some relevant excerpts of his remarks follow:
“I believe that we are getting close to the last days of possible rethinking and reconsidering in Ukraine. If those big powers don’t do anything in a short period of time, yes, I’m pretty much certain that we’ll face a real disaster.”
In reference to the Western rhetoric claiming that Putin is bluffing: “If you bet on the fact that someone is bluffing, it means that you have no better cards. That you just believe that the other side has weaker cards. But you don’t know and you didn’t see his or their cards….”
“Everybody’s speaking only about war. Nobody wants to reach peace. Nobody speaks about peace. Peace is almost a forbidden word. Please notice this! Because they say we have to win in order to secure a future peace, but nobody’s speaking about a peace… you have to have the other side on the table as well.”
Vucic then says that “there is another theory” held by some in the West, who think they can “exhaust” Russia until it loses the war. Putin will be overthrown, and ultimately the West will be able to move in and “Russia in today’s territory and shaped like it is today won’t exist anymore.” This won’t work, he insisted.
Asked to explain the universally confrontational mood in the West, “this kind of war enthusiasm”? Vucic replied: “Whenever I was asked … to launch a war against Albanians and NATO in Kosovo … I was just saying, ‘OK, I do understand your emotions. I understand your position. But would you really like the fact that your mother will get a coffin with her son, husband, father, whoever?’ and then it’s a slightly different approach.
“In today’s Europe, they all act like big heroes, but they do not say to their people that they will pay a very big price. And speaking about it, you and all the media should do absolutely everything in order to stop any kind of warmongering behavior and everything. … I do understand why Macron is insisting on this. … But on the other hand, before saying that, before doing that … they should all try … reaching any kind of truce, any kind of ceasefire, and then to negotiate for 10, 20, 30, 50 years—doesn’t matter. It’s better than a day of bitter fight, which we face today.”
At a certain point Vucic discussed what is behind this mindless push for war, and why he thinks we are “getting close to the precipice.” If you analyze the situation of NATO and the U.S., he said, “They cannot afford to lose the war in Ukraine, which means Russia cannot win. Because first of all, their political legacy will not exist, or it will be so poor that they cannot allow [it]. Number two, the position of Europe and the collective West in geopolitical terms will deteriorate so much that no one will be able to revive it … and number three, it will open Pandora’s box for more movements, at least, and hostilities against [the] collective West in the future.
“But take the other side…. If Putin loses the war, Russia will not exist and will not be shaped like it is today. I mean, when you have these two sides so … far from each other, with their wishes, with their expectations, you see that everything is at stake. Everything. No one can afford to lose. When you have this situation, that’s why I’m saying that we’re getting closer to a real disaster.”
