Vucic: Tirana summit good opportunity to protect Serbian interests

TIRANA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday in Tirana he would attend an EU-Western Balkans summit in the city not only because of a friendship with Albania but also because "it is always better to be at the table when discussions are underway, because when you are not at the table, you are usually on the menu."

"This is a good opportunity to protect Serbian interests," Vucic told reporters after arriving in the Albanian capital. When asked who he would meet with during the summit, he noted meetings with the Dutch and Belgian PMs.

"Separate bilateral meetings include a meeting with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. Those will be separate bilaterals. I will speak with almost everyone from both the region and the EU," Vucic said.

Meanwhile, Vucic has met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, Albanian PM Edi Rama and the Serb member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency Zeljka Cvijanovic.

"With European Council President Charles Michel, I discussed all issues of interest to Belgrade and Brussels," Vucic wrote in a post on his buducnostsrbijeav Instagram account.

After the meeting with von der Leyen, Vucic posted that he had thanked her for the EU's 165 mln euro assistance to the Serbian energy sector and discussed "all current affairs between Serbia and the EU."