Yesterday in New York, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic sharply responded to the statement made by the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Denis Becirovic, at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, calling it a “notorious lie” and a “dangerous game played by the liars from Sarajevo.”
In reaction to Becirovic’s statement from two days ago at the General Assembly, where he claimed that Serbia’s leadership “threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity of BiH,” Vucic said that BiH politicians from Sarajevo “seem to think this is their last chance to turn the world against Serbia.”
“They were hoping for a brutal attack on Serbia. It’s been two and a half years (since Russia’s attack on Ukraine), with daily stories that Serbia is going to attack someone in the region and that it is a satellite of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. They’re projecting their own tendencies, as everyone acts within the limits of their own corruption. When they project their own behavior, they know they are nothing but a small player whose decisions are made by someone else. And they’re using this time to do something against Serbia,” Vucic stated.
He claimed that “BiH politicians” from Sarajevo had circulated a letter to UN member states alleging that Serbia decided to remove the grave of Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito, “knowing that Serbian friends from Africa and Asia would not like to hear that.”
“They thought this issue with Tito was their chance to finally show that it is not Serbia advocating for the rights of the underdeveloped and developing countries, but that it’s them. When they saw my statement (that Tito’s grave will not be moved), they found themselves in a difficult position, and that’s when the nervousness set in, forcing them to react the way they did,” Vucic added.
During his address at the UN General Assembly two days ago, Becirovic also stated that “Serbia’s expansionist ambitions toward the territories of other countries in the region are the fundamental reasons why BiH and the Western Balkans face new dangers.”
Regarding the Declaration on the Protection of National and Political Rights and the Common Future of the Serbian People, adopted at the “All-Serbian Assembly” in Belgrade on June 8th, Becirovic described it as a “dangerous programmatic document aimed at creating a greater state, which threatens the Dayton Peace Agreement and the state of BiH.”
He added that, despite this, BiH is a “peaceful country firmly committed to regional cooperation, as one of its main strategic foreign policy goals.”
In response to Becirovic’s statements, Serbia sent a protest letter to the UN Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly, stating that Becirovic had made a series of “unfounded and malicious accusations” against Serbia and the Serbian people.
As reported by Serbian media, the letter stated that Becirovic, by “abusing the worn-out narrative of ‘Greater Serbia,’ is attempting to revive conflicts in the region from the 1990s.”
“Serbia’s position is that efforts must be made to create a political climate for reconciliation, cooperation, and lasting peace in the Western Balkans, rather than stoking old fears,” the letter said.
