President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić he said on the BBC's "Hard Talk" show that he is the leader of a country that has problems, but he emphasized that he has great results in the economy, as well as that Serbia one of the two or three countries with the highest rate of economic growth in all of Europe, adding that today Serbia accounts for 50 percent of the total GDP of the Western Balkans.
"Serbia accounts for 55 percent of the total export of the Western Balkans." Serbia accounts for 64 percent of the total attractiveness of the Western Balkans. That's what I'm dreaming about, my dream is EXPO 2027. That's what I'm focused on," said Vučić during his guest appearance.
He pointed out that he is satisfied with economic development and added that he is focused on economic reforms in the future, which is why, as he said, he wants to have normal relations "with everyone in the region".
He denied the journalist's allegations that Serbia relies exclusively on Russia in the field of energy, saying that Serbia is trying to diversify as much as possible.
"That's why we built the interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria." That's why we started not only to negotiate, but also to buy gas from Azerbaijan. "I recently discussed this with (Azerbaijani President) Ilham Aliyev, but we still receive large quantities of gas from Russia," said Vučić.
"I've changed in 30 years"
Vučić answered the questions of host Steven Sakura about whether Serbia is going to the West, Russia or China.
Sakur told Vučić that he was previously a member of the Serbian Radical Party and that he was ideologically committed to the vision of a greater Serbia, that is, the vision that "led to dark times in the Balkans." He asked Vučić how much he had changed during that time.
"I am not ashamed to say that I have changed." But I don't agree with you about who was to blame and who is responsible for the many bad things that happened in the Balkans. We have different views on it, and I'm not just talking about our internal issues. When I say our internal issues, I mean issues from the former Yugoslavia. I mean the role of the Western powers and everyone else who had a lot of influence and influence on the situation at that time. But of course, we have an idiom in Serbian that says that only donkeys don't change. And now I am 30 years older - said Vučić and added:
"Of course, now I am a mature person leading the country and I have to take care of the interests of our people." I believe that we have at least achieved something. So if you're talking about change and maturity, let's look at one specific aspect of the past and present. I will tell you one thing. Besides disagreeing with all of your assessments and all of your objections to what has been going on here, I would say that changing myself and realizing that the economy is of the utmost importance to the future of the country. And besides, you can't achieve anything without stability, peace and tranquility.
Vučić said that he is very proud of the fact that he sits only in the Serbian chair, that Serbia leads an independent policy, and that its strategic goal is to become a full member of the EU.
"And we will do all the necessary reforms." We will speed up all the processes and we will do our best to finish it by the end of 2026. This does not mean that we will be part of the EU in 2027 or 2028. That is up to the EU countries. But are we going to say the worst about our traditional friends and partners from the East, no, we won't. We won't do that. We have good relations with China today," said Vučić.
