President Vucic speaks in Qatar: We did not sell weapons to either Russians or Ukrainians

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic was at a United Nations conference in Qatar on Sunday when he said that he had a meeting with the emir of Qatar, and that it was their first meeting.

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"We were the first bilateral meeting for the ruler of Qatar and it is a great honor. This is a conference about the 46 poorest countries in the world, people will understand why it is important to us. Of those 46, 33 are from Africa, nine are from Asia, three from the Pacific and one from the Caribbean, but there are many of our friends here, so it's no wonder that the president of Poland and the president of Slovenia were also here. I had a long discussion with them about the situation in the region and European issues, as well as the situation in Ukraine. I spoke with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and I hope to meet with many more," said Vucic.

He stressed that Serbia is on the European path, but that for us, because of the Non-Aligned Movement and the situation with Kosovo and Metohija, "this meeting is of enormous importance."

"We will spend the whole day looking at what good we can do for our country. Regarding the conversation with the emir of Qatar, we spoke about his potential visit, investments, security of food supply, energy, but also about other investments. I singled out a special topic, Air Serbia is today completely in Serbian hands, but we are looking to avoid some risks. We are doing excellent business today, but the situation will not always be so favorable, that's why I asked the emir of Qatar to help us in the future to see if there is any interest in being our strategic partner," said Vucic.

Asked if we can expect any investment from Qatar in the coming period, Vucic said that the primary item on that path is precisely Air Serbia.

"Seven days before Covid we managed to reach a concession agreement with the French. It is the most modern airport. You can't attract guests if their first stop looks bad. Air Serbia has huge results. For three or four years we lost money on the New York flight, and now it is the most profitable one. A new line to Chicago is coming soon. We are going to Tianjin, and I hope to Shanghai soon. We are introducing new lines, soon they will go to Lisbon, directly to Spain, Barcelona and Madrid," adds Vucic.

He stressed that he was honored and grateful for the privilege that Serbia received when he was the first to have a meeting with the emir of Qatar.

"We didn't sell weapons to Russia, nor Ukraine"

When asked about export of arms to Ukraine, Vucic said that "today there are countless people who will call Russian phones to report that we are cooperating with the West, then call the West to say that we are cooperating with Russia."

"Air Serbia earns huge money, maintains routes to Russia, so they report to Brussels. Serbia has not produced any weapons, Serbia sells and produces ammunition. Their job is to manufacture shells, mines, dynamite, explosives, rocket charges and everything else. When you produce it, that ammunition always ends up somewhere on the battlefield or crisis areas of the world.

Imagine wearing it and selling it to modeling associations and organizations, it makes no sense. But we didn't sell a single piece to Russia or Ukraine. We have authorized users and Serbia can only export to such countries. Knowing that there is a possibility that part of the goods could be sent to anyone on the Ukrainian battlefield, we added a clause that it is impossible to export the ammunition we sold to Turkey without the consent of the Republic of Serbia," said Vucic.

When it comes to the possibility of the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo by Berlin, Vucic said that it is "not realistic."

"For me, it's important that there are many rational attitudes in Europe, but we will certainly face pressure," he concluded.

(Telegraf.rs)