Serbia must prepare for ‘difficult period’ – president

In an unstable world, it is “impossible” to predict what will happen in a year, Aleksandar Vucic has said

The world is unstable, and Serbia’s security services must “prepare for every possible scenario,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has declared. Vucic has repeatedly highlighted the Ukraine conflict as a crisis that could escalate into a third world war. 

Speaking at an awards ceremony for police officers on Sunday, Vucic called on the Interior Ministry to ensure that “no matter how difficult it is in Europe, every inch of Serbian land must be safe.”

“We live in a world where there is no security or stability, and it is impossible to easily consider what will happen before the end of this year, much less plan much for the future,” he said.

“Therefore, we must think about our country and prepare well for every possible scenario,” he continued, urging the ministry to “be prepared for a more difficult period, not because Serbia is in a difficult or bad condition…but because I know what will happen in the world, I know that the situation here will be much more difficult, so it is important to ensure that reserves exist, and to prepare for this period.”

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European leader warns world ‘heading for disaster’

Ever since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022, Vucic has regularly issued pessimistic predictions about its potential impact on global security. “I am afraid that there is little time left for the war in Ukraine to be stopped,” he told Prva Srpska Televizija last month. “In my opinion, things will get worse and worse, and it may happen that we will have a greater tragedy than World War II. I’m afraid we are heading towards a great world conflict, and few want to stop it.”

Vucic, whose country was subjected to a NATO bombing campaign in 1999, has maintained friendly relations with Moscow since the conflict began, despite Western pressure to sever trade links and impose sanctions on Russia. He has accused Western powers of trying to “blackmail” Serbia into supporting sanctions, and of attempting to orchestrate a “color revolution” against his government in December.

The president’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won 85 out of 89 municipalities in local elections earlier this month, and gained an absolute majority in parliament in a general election in January. The latter victory was seen as a powerful rebuke to the opposition forces Vucic accused of plotting revolution a month earlier.