Dacic: I always gave my best, together with Vucic I showed that I can cope with great challenges

Photo: Nikola Tomic

The leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SNS), Ivica Dacic, spoke for Telegraf.rs about whether, bearing in mind the slogan of his campaign, "Ivica Dacic - Prime Minister," he has an agreement with the leader of the SNS, Aleksandar Vucic, regarding what office he will hold after the April 3 elections, who he would invite to his cabinet if he became the next Serbian prime minister, why it would be tantamount to suicide, as he recently assessed, if Serbia imposed sanctions against Russia, why there has been no concrete reaction from the West to the decision of Prime Minister of the Provisional Institutions of Pristina Albin Kurti not to allow Serbs to vote, as well as whether he expects an official offer for Belgrade to host negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

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"Vucic and I spoke several times before these elections. We have had several election cycles since 2012, and the last time he was a joint presidential candidate, but there were no parliamentary elections then. Now we have agreed that the SPS will support him in the presidential elections, but keep separate parliamentary lists, but we have also agreed to continue cooperation after the elections," says Dacic.

The very fact that we have two electoral lists imposes the need for a specific campaign, says Dacic and adds that because of that the Socialist campaign cannot be based only on urging people to vote for Vucic, but it must be clear that voting for Vucic is voting for president, while if someone wants to vote for him, that does not mean that they should vote for the SNS (in parliamentary elections).

"That is why we have simplified that story, 'Ivica Dacic - Prime Minister', in parliamentary elections everyone fights to have the person who will lead the government, and everywhere around the world party representatives top the list of candidates for prime minister," said Dacic.

Photo: Nikola Tomic

Dacic: It's best for state interests that Vucic is president and I prime minister

"I have performed the most important state and national jobs all these years and together with Vucic I have shown that I know how to, and can deal with big problems and challenges we have been facing all these years, and unfortunately it seems we will continue to face." said is Dacic.

He stated that as minister of the interior, he signed visa liberalization with the European Union, enabling citizens to travel to EU countries without a visa, stating that people may have been forgotten what it is like to apply for a visa every few months.

"Maybe they would realize how much it means if someone now announced that they would reintroduce visas," says Dacic, adding that this is a concrete, maybe the main thing that citizens got during the EU integration process.

He also reminds that, when he served as prime minister, negotiations on Serbia's membership in the EU began, that 18 countries withdrew their recognition of Kosovo while he was head of diplomacy, and that constitutional changes were made while he was at the helm of the Serbian National Assembly.

"With that, we made a great contribution to the democratization of Serbia, depoliticization of the judiciary and the fight against corruption, so I think that in each of these jobs I gave the maximum possible at that time, and that regardless, when the elections are over, a line must be drawn to see what is the best role for whom," says Dacic.

Asked when he would invite current ministers to his cabinet and what results he expects, since polling agencies now predict around 10 percent of the vote (for the SPS), Dacic said that he hopes for a better result compared to 2020, when they won 10.34 percent, adding that the "outcome of the personnel situation" depends on election results.

Photo: Nikola Tomic

The result of inter-party dialogue is that there is no boycott

The latest poll by the Faktor Plus agency predicts that the SNS, SPS, Ujedinjeni, and Moramo coalitions will certainly enter parliament, and Dacic commented that, if confirmed in the elections, it will undoubtedly mean greater opposition participation there.

"I think that this is one of the results of the inter-party dialogue, that we came to the conclusion that everyone will participate in the elections, that there is no boycott, which is good for the state and its national interest," said Dacic and added that it is difficult to predict who will cross the three percent threshold and that there are parties on the brink of it.

However, he agrees with the assessment that the four lists will enter parliament. plus parties representing national minorities.

"But even if it ends that way, it's already a significant presence of the opposition and I think that's good for the political system," said Dacic.

If our interest is for so-called Kosovo to join UN quickly, then we can impose sanctions against Russia

Asked about pressure on Serbia to impose sanctions against the Russian Federation, i.e., whether in that case it will have to choose between defending national interests, and the European Union, which can be linked to arrival of investors, jobs and a better life, Dacic said that we should generally decide what is our national and state interest and whether that is to protect Serbia's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"If that is so, then we know exactly what we need to do, that is, what we must not do. If someone thinks that the defense of the territorial integrity is not the most important state and national interest, then it's possible to go some other way," said Dacic and added that here we do not have many options to choose from.

According to him, we should be aware that imposing sanctions against Russia will not particularly harm Russia, but will instead hurt Serbia, because if we do, the question is why Russia would vote in favor of our interests in the United Nations.

"And we all know that after that, Kosovo's request to join the UN will follow. If we are interested in Kosovo joining the UN more easily, then we can impose sanctions against Russia, if our interest is not in Kosovo joining the UN, then we have to ask the question, if we quarrel with Russia, who is that new one who will be helping us?," Dacic asked.

"I did not see that we have anyone else," said Dacic and added that "forcing" us to impose sanctions against Russia would not only not help us, but, he says, a proposal for Kosovo to join the UN would arive.

"So I don't see any other way out here, except to commit suicide. It's like cutting the branch you are sitting on, and I am not a Russophile at all in that, nor am I interested in something like that," stated Dacic.

Photo: Nikola Tomic

Why would Serbia be afraid of the West, "if they are so powerless they can't even convince Kurti to let Serbs vote"

He explained that he is not speaking in categories such as, "I love Russia," nor is he a supporter of another theory that we should be afraid of the West, because, he commented, why would Serbia be afraid of the West "if they are so powerless they can't persuade (Albin) Kurti to let Serbs vote."

"They say they express regret because Kurti did not allow it... So wait a second, you express regret about him, and yo tell us, you will have to do this and that. So, why don't you tell him, 'you have to do this and that', why don't you tell him, there will be consequences...?," Dacic asked.

Tomorrow, Dacic continued, someone will say they will attack Serbs in the north of Kosovo, and we will not be allowed to respond because we should be afraid that foreign investments will stop.

"I think that's ridiculous and that such a way of conversation is just to scare people, and in fact to say freely, you are pressuring us so we would have to impose sanctions against Russia at some point," Dacic said.

He believes that those who did not put pressure on Pristina to allow Serbs to vote are, in essence, cheering for Kosovo to become independent.

"I will say it once again, how will you threaten us if you cannot force Pristina to allow Serbs to vote? I'm not saying this because I am a Russophile, I am a Serbophile, I love Serbia, let someone tell me who will veto Kosovo's attempt to join the United Nations other than Russia. No one. Not China. If that's the case, that no one will do it except Russia, then what does the move to impose sanctions against Russia mean? It means we would have given up on Kosovo in advance," Dacic assessed.

Photo: Nikola Tomic

Dacic also said that he does not know whether the issue of Belgrade hosting negotiations between Russia and Ukraine is being considered at all, but that the Serbian capital is always ready to organize the talks if there is such an agreement. However, he also believes that Serbia should not rush to and live for solving global crises.

"We are not offering ourselves, we are not the ones who will be rushing to and living for solving some global crises, but if someone thinks that this place and this country is appropriate, we are friends to both Russia and Ukraine and we have no special interests that would make someone say we would play a biased role," concluded Dacic.

(Telegraf.rs)