Vucic: 1999 bombing was precedent that is now coming back like boomerang

BELGRADE - At the opening of an international student forum titled Freedom and Sovereignty of Nations in the 21st Century, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said it was very important to build good relations also with smaller and not so powerful countries, and noted that the bombing of FR Yugoslavia in 1999 was a global precedent that was now "coming back like a boomerang."

"I am proud that you, young people coming from other countries, have always and in every way represented a bridge between Serbia and those other parts of the world where we have sought only friends," Vucic said at the Palace of Serbia.

"I am also proud that, unlike many countries in the world, we do not think it is important to have and build good relations only with Brussels and Washington or Moscow, and we believe it is extremely important to build such relations with smaller countries or larger countries on the international scene that are not so powerful and rich, politically and economically," Vucic said.

Until recently, everyone in the modern world was referring to some kind of law and principles, even as they were consciously breaching them, he said.

"But there was some kind of moral obligation to justify an action of attacking a country, any unlawful action carried out in the international arena. To show that they have found a sufficient reason to do something and that they have aligned that with legal norms, even if that was not quite true," Vucic said.

"Starting from 1999, Serbia, and FR Yugoslavia, were a precedent at the time, but one that did not resonate strongly around the globe because the so-called liberal world, the Western hemisphere, was so dominant politically and economically that no one could be heard, and no one could even think that, one day, it would come back like a boomerang and, today, it is coming back," Vucic noted.

"Today, 26 years on, there are no justifications anymore, nothing," he said.

There are even no rules, and no one even tries to give an explanation when they attack someone, Vucic added.