I'm proud of Serbia's reputation in Israel: Vucic ends his visit to Jerusalem

The values ​​of Nazism and Fascism must never be part any society's values and any kind of unilateralism and hatred should be fought against, is the message from the marking of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Vucic, who paid tribute earlier on Thursday to the victims of the Holocaust at the Yad Vashem Memorial Center in Jerusalem, said he had the honor of representing Serbia at an important event marking the anniversary of the Red Army entering Auschwitz and the de facto victory over fascism, as well as remembering the difficult and terrible years of the Holocaust.

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"I think all of you, just as us in the delegation, were proud of the reputation our country has in Israel and the special respect we received from President Rivlin and Prime Minister Netanyahu," Vucic told reporters after his visit to Jerusalem.

He said that Serbia was received special respect from the Israeli public and that ordinary people such as liaison officers, journalists, security guards and others, saw the news about the Star of David flag that was displayed on the Serbian Presidency building in Belgrade.

Photo: Tanjug/Dragan Kujundzic

"And everyone commented on this and said thank you, we will not forget it. It seems to me that we could have hardly done something better for Serbia's recognition," Vucic remarked.

He pointed out that the ceremony in Jerusalem centered around values ​​and what needs to be done and fought for in the future.

"For the values ​​of Nazism and Fascism to never be part of the value system of any, not only ours, but any society in our surroundings. And to fight against any kind of one-sidedness, hatred and fighting against people just because they think differently or we think they look different or we think they are different than us. I think this is the unity of the message that we could see today, which is of great importance for the future," said Vucic.

The Serbian president, on the other hand, also saw strong messages from Israel and the US, he said, against one country.

Phoo: Tanjug/Zoran Zestic

"Somewhat different messages from other presidents, and Putin's insistence not to forget that 27 million Soviets died, while Americans said two million of theirs took part while 125,000 died in World War II," he said.

Vucic said that that everyone was stressing their own role.

"German President Frank Walter Steinmeier said he was ashamed and would never accept that anyone or anything did the right thing against the Jews or any other nation during World War II on behalf of Germany," Vucic said.

He also said that he had many important contacts during his stay in Jerusalem, adding that he briefly spoke with US Vice President Mike Pence as well as with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while his conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron lasted a little longer.

Photo: TANJUG/DRAGAN KUJUNDZIC

He added that he also spoke with European Council President Charles Michel again, as well as with representatives from the region.

"I believe that these are also opportunities where you build your country's position in a good and decent way, regardless of how small we are compared to big countries," said Vucic.

He said that Putin spoke about the big five at the UN, some others spoked about some other big powers, while Serbia is not in either of those two groups.

"But I am proud that Serbia is visible and recognizable in its policy, the policy of the future and I believe that we have done our job in a good, professional, and serious way, taking into account the interest of our people and our country," concluded Vucic.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)