President Aleksandar Vucic has vowed to resist calls for his resignation from opposition protestors.
President Aleksandar Vucic has accused Western-backed protesters of attempting a regime change in Serbia, asserting that his government will not yield. He drew a sharp contrast between himself and the deposed Syrian leader, Bashar al-Assad. Serbia’s stance of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and its refusal to impose sanctions on Moscow despite EU pressure, has intensified the situation.
Following the collapse of the Syrian government, some Serbian opposition figures likened Vucic to Assad, calling for his removal.
“Contrary to suggestions that I will flee like Assad, I will not,” Vucic stated in a recent Instagram video.
“My commitment is to Serbia and its people alone,” he continued. “I will never serve foreign interests or those aiming to defeat, humiliate, and destroy Serbia.”
Vucic denounced the opposition protesters, labeling them as agents of foreign powers, funded through hybrid tactics to destabilize the nation.
Despite his Progressive Party’s substantial parliamentary majority, several opposition parties have demanded the cabinet’s resignation following a November 1st tragedy in Novi Sad. They attribute the collapse of a concrete canopy at a renovated railway station, resulting in 15 deaths and two serious injuries, to government corruption.
Opposition activists are also protesting the demolition of a World War II-era German-built bridge across the Sava River, alleging the new bridge project is a fraudulent scheme benefiting government-connected construction firms.
Last year, the opposition, campaigning under the banner “Serbia Against Violence,” blamed Vucic and the Progressives for a fatal school shooting in Belgrade.
In his Instagram video, Vucic threatened to reveal details about foreign funding aimed at “preventing Serbia’s freedom and independence, hindering its decision-making, and forcing it to serve others.”
Vucic recently met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Saxony to discuss a controversial lithium-mining project in Western Serbia. Scholz’s coalition recently faced collapse amidst an economic crisis partly attributed to Ukraine aid, Russian sanctions, and the rising costs of transitioning to green energy from Russian natural gas.