Serbian President urges sovereign alliance of small states at Davos Forum

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated today at the Davos Forum, during the panel “Defining the Economic Identity of Eurasia”, that everyone sees major changes in a world where rules no longer exist and the United Nations is not respected, and that the role of small countries will become increasingly important, making cooperation essential.

"The role of our countries, in my opinion, will become increasingly important. We are small states, as is well known, small nations, if we speak in terms of numbers or size, not pride and dignity. I believe we will have greater significance in the future, and I will explain why. Serbia has seven million people, Azerbaijan ten million, Armenia three million. We will need to get along well, cooperate, and work together," Vučić emphasized in the presence of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan.

When asked by the moderator whether he sees Serbia as an important bridge for Europe and Eurasia in defining the region’s economic identity, Vučić said he was surprised by the great interest in this panel, as most people otherwise focus only on tomorrow’s address by U.S. President Donald Trump and analyze today’s speeches by French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, CE Report informs via Tanjug.

"In today’s world without rules or regulations, where big fish eat small fish and no one even hides it anymore, they openly admit it. They simply do it and speak openly about it. Without respecting the United Nations Charter and UN resolutions, we must take care of ourselves in such a situation," Vučić stressed.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić also stated that a completely new world order is forming that will disregard the sovereignty of small countries, and emphasized that Serbia will maintain its independence and sovereignty.

"Take (Aleksandr) Dugin’s statement from yesterday, look at everything happening in the Caucasus, which you will hear about today from Aliyev and others regarding that statement. They will deny the sovereignty of all smaller countries, or you will have to belong to one, another, or third major bloc. We want to preserve our sovereignty and independence. There are many challenges and problems, but we will manage and protect our country," Vučić told journalists in Davos after the official opening of the World Economic Forum.

Vučić also said that his conclusion is that Europe is not ready to defend Greenland by military means.

"From the messages I see being published by (Donald) Trump, (Mark) Rutte, it seems that Europe will act strongly, but I do not think they are ready to defend Greenland militarily. If I may point out, that is my conclusion, it may be wrong," Vučić said.

The Serbian president stated today that he believes he will soon receive an invitation for a major official visit to the People’s Republic of China, a bilateral visit that is, as he emphasized, very important for Serbia. Vučić, attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, was responding to a journalist’s question about the direction Serbia should take in current global relations. He said he believes that in the meantime, Serbia will work a lot with Americans and Europeans.

"There is one problem, which we still need to discuss, and I need time to analyze this for several nights and days, to read and study. But we discussed it initially. You can do important things with Mercosur. You will sell many more German and French cars there. But you will import much more Chilean and Argentine wine into Europe than you sell there, because European wines are much more expensive, and it is a question in which areas this will benefit you or not," he said.

Vučić added that this is because European competitiveness is declining and European growth is insufficient, while Europe lags behind the U.S. and China in artificial intelligence and the IT sector.

He noted that it is uncertain what the real outcome will be and that the issue of the unity of European Union member states should not be forgotten.

​Foto: Tanjug: WORLD ECONOMICC FORUM/PASCAL BITZ