The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, delivered a speech at the session of the UN General Assembly last night, quoting Mahatma Gandhi, who said that Serbia, which he called a “place of freedom and justice”, is not a servant of the United States or Russia. However, according to expert Dragan Popović from the Center for Practical Politics, this “strong speech” was not aimed at the foreign representatives in the UN, but at domestic public opinion, Nova.rs reports.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic mentioned many things in his long-announced speech at the UN General Assembly session. He quoted Mahatma Gandhi, among others, and said that our country, as a place where “freedom and justice reign,” respects the principles of the UN.
“He said there is no way to peace, peace is the way. With this in mind, I address you on behalf of the Republic of Serbia, the land of freedom and justice. “Despite global challenges, it remains committed to upholding UN principles and international laws,” he said.
He also pointed out that “if we talk about the current situation, the situation in the world looks more difficult and darker than it did a year ago.”
“Humanity today relies more on technology than on people themselves. We are talking about conflicts that lead to casualties. Serbia and the Serbian people have great compassion and share the sadness of all the lives lost in conflicts around the world, in the Middle East and in Ukraine. It is unforgivable that in the 21st century we are talking about children killed in conflicts,” the Serbian president told several foreign officials.
However, the speech didn’t end there. Vucic also referred to the currently controversial topic these days – which side our country is turning towards more, the East or the West.
“I ask you, distinguished representatives and friends, what should we do as small libertarian countries? Today in the world everyone is talking about Ukraine, no one is allowed to talk about Serbia.” “We are not servants of Russia or the United States, we have our own politics and our own interests,” he said.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said “very strong words, words that echoed through the hall of the United Nations General Assembly,” Nova.rs reports. And as he previously wrote on his Instagram, before his presentation, former tennis player Janko Tipsarevic came to his aid, teaching him how to “reduce the nervousness and deal with it before the speech.”
All of this points to a fact that, according to experts, is confirmed again and again: it is Vucic’s performance that serves to send a message to the citizens of Serbia, more precisely to its voters.
Popovic: This is political marketing, like everything else Vucic does
As Dragan Popovic of the Center for Practical Politics believes, everything Vucic does is based on premeditation about what impact it will have on his voters, thousands of miles away from New York. That’s why, he adds, this was “one of those occasions where he conveyed the image of being a kind of new Tito, balancing between East and West.”
“It is precisely for this reason that the President of Serbia used bombastic phrases and mentioned Russia and America, although it was neither an issue nor an option.” I think there is no doubt that such speeches, especially from such high official positions, are addressed to the Citizens of Serbia and not foreign representatives. “This is political marketing, like everything else Vucic does,” said Popovic.
On the other hand, he adds, these words didn’t mean much to the foreign representatives who attended Vucic’s speech.
“If something has resonated with foreigners, it is what Vucic keeps repeating.” Otherwise, such meetings are almost always empty, except when the presidents of Russia, the United States, etc. speak. Aleksandar Vucic had no reason to go there in person and give this speech, but he went to send a powerful visual message from this place. For the foreigners, this is what Vucic repeats again and again, even when something has happened to them: that he is trying to sit on two stools, that he is in a difficult situation and that he is being pressured from all sides, why he does that “He cannot resist, this is the introduction of sanctions against Russia, because there is a lot of pressure from within and so on,” said Dragan Popovic.
Nova.rs writes that at the time Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic spoke on the podium, the General Assembly hall was half empty.
