At the Ukraine–Southeast Europe Summit held in Odesa, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić made clear his satisfaction that no representatives from Kosovo were invited to attend the event.
In a statement to Serbian media, Vučić praised his participation in the summit as successful, particularly noting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had, according to him, fully respected the UN Charter and Serbia’s territorial integrity by excluding representatives from Pristina.
“This is a great gesture toward our country,” Vučić said, emphasizing that Serbia would highly appreciate this act.
He pointed out that this was the fourth time he had attended this summit, but the first time doing so on Ukrainian soil.
On another major issue, Vučić clarified that he did not sign the joint summit declaration condemning Russia. He said the declaration was too sensitive for Serbia and thus he chose to abstain.
“The declaration that was adopted was not easy, which is why my name and Serbia’s are not among its signatories,” Vučić explained, adding that he did not want to commit “an act of betrayal” against Russia.
He also criticized opposition media in Serbia for labeling him as either a Russian or Ukrainian agent, saying he is being attacked from both sides.
“Who did I betray? Russia? With what? By attending the summit? This is my fourth time at the Southeast Europe–Ukraine summit, and once again, I was the only one who refused to sign the declaration,” Vučić said.
He emphasized that Serbia will continue to defend its own interests, guided by international law and its own independence.
“When you don’t have arguments, you resort to lies. But lies don’t get far. I’m proud of Serbia’s policy, proud of our independence, and we will continue to uphold it,” he concluded.
