Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has commented on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s decision to postpone planned visits to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, saying he believes she is fully aware of public sentiment in Serbia.
Speaking during his visit to Ukraine, on the sidelines of the Carpathian Initiative Summit, Vučić was asked about the cancellation of von der Leyen’s planned trip.
“They found an elegant way to say that it is because of the elections,” Vučić said.
“I think Ursula is too wise and intelligent to have illusions or not know what public opinion in Serbia is like. I am sure she knows very well,” he added.
Von der Leyen had been scheduled to visit Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina during a Western Balkans tour planned for September 30 to October 2.
However, the European Commission said the visits to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina would be postponed because of elections in the two countries, with von der Leyen expected to visit them at a later date.
The decision comes amid heightened political attention surrounding Serbia’s upcoming parliamentary elections and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s electoral process.
Separately, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos recently postponed a planned visit to Serbia. According to the report, the visit was cancelled following the death and funeral of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić, who was convicted of genocide and other war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
