Vučić to CNN: ‘I want fair political competition’ — Serbs feel injustice from the international community

In his CNN interview conducted by renowned journalist Fareed Zakaria, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić declared that he wants “fair political competition” in Serbia. As the Danas portal reports, Vučić said: “I want fair political competition and whoever wins, I will congratulate them” — adding that he wants a fair race and will accept the winner. The interview was given ahead of his resignation announced tonight at 8:00 p.m.

Asked whether he aims to become prime minister after his presidential term ends — a comparison the journalist drew with Russian President Vladimir Putin — Vučić cited the examples of Rumen Radev in Bulgaria, the former president who later became prime minister, and Alexander Stubb of Finland, the former prime minister elected president. “Everyone is allowed, only I am not,” he said in the interview reported by Danas.

Vučić also defended the burial of Ratko Mladić, the former commander sentenced in The Hague to life imprisonment for genocide. “We did nothing wrong; we had to ensure a dignified and civilized burial… It was not a state funeral, there were no state honors,” he said in the CNN interview, adding that neither he nor parliament speaker Ana Brnabić attended; his son, he said, went there privately.

He also recalled his visit to Srebrenica on the 20th anniversary of the genocide, where he was physically attacked, saying no one was punished for that attack.

In closing, Vučić stressed that Serbia’s strategic priority is preserving peace and stability in the region, linking it to the fact that Serbia is “the fastest-growing economy in the region,” as quoted by Danas.