Former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has accused foreign actors of seeking to divide Serbia’s Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) into three separate parts, claiming that such a move would serve the interests of a major foreign intelligence service.
Vučić made the remarks during a live broadcast on Facebook and TikTok, where he commented on the actions of the new authorities following the parliamentary elections held on October 25, which his United Serbia electoral list lost to the Students’ List.
He accused the election winners of pursuing political persecution, putting pressure on business owners, arresting police officers and attempting to shut down media outlets.
Vučić also warned that thousands of jobs in several Serbian cities could be at risk, while expressing concern over potential changes within the country’s security and police institutions and what he described as demands from Brussels directed at the new government.
“The foreigners’ plan is to divide the BIA into three parts, so that it would serve the interests of a major foreign intelligence service. Slowly but surely, we will also lose our military neutrality and move towards NATO,” Vučić said.
He also challenged the new authorities to respond to allegations concerning commitments allegedly made to Andreas von Beckerath, head of the European Union Delegation to Serbia, referring to the Students’ List.
Vučić additionally addressed the incident involving former Serbian intelligence chief and political ally Aleksandar Vulin, whose flight to Moscow was reportedly forced to return to Belgrade two days earlier. Vulin subsequently managed to travel to Moscow to attend an international gathering.
Describing the incident as unprecedented, Vučić claimed that the aircraft had been ordered back to Belgrade over alleged security concerns involving Vulin, including suspicions that he was carrying gold bars.
He questioned why the entire aircraft had been forced to return to Belgrade rather than being diverted to the nearest airport, arguing that the incident had caused embarrassment for Serbia.
“They returned the entire plane to Belgrade so that all of Europe could laugh at us. They wanted to bring Vulin back and kept him at the airport for three or four hours. They found nothing in his bag. Did anyone apologise?” Vučić said, questioning who would take responsibility for the financial and reputational consequences.
Towards the end of his address, Vučić also responded to those referring to him as a former president, saying that he would soon become the parliamentary group leader of “Serbia Against Terror.”
