The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, said this evening in Belgrade that Paris does not teach Serbia any lessons for not imposing sanctions on Moscow because it is not yet a member of the European Union (EU) and pointed out that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, made "very brave decisions" regarding the war in Ukraine.
At the joint press conference after the meeting with Vučić and the exchange of 12 signed bilateral documents, Macron said that he would point out that not joining the EU sanctions against Russia was wrong if Serbia was a member of the Union.
"But Serbia is not in the EU, it is sovereign and makes that decision alone. And that is very good. I also noticed here that President Vučić made very brave decisions regarding the war in Ukraine - humanitarian issues, ammunition, defense," he said. Macron.
Asked to comment on Serbia's geopolitical position, bearing in mind that Chinese President Xi Jinping was in Belgrade in May, and then German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in July, Macron said that Vučić "has the legitimacy to sovereignly decide with whom he wants to cooperate and go forward" and that "it is not up to France to comment on those decisions".
"There is one person who has the legitimacy to work on this, and that is the president of Serbia. I will not define what the president of Serbia does, that is up to him. President Xi was here, but he came here from France. I think it is good that you have the visit of the Chinese president, China is a great strategic partner," Macron said.
Macron also said that "a good geopolitics of Serbia is one that serves the interests of the Serbian people".
"I can speak about the interest of France - it is for Serbia to work as much as possible with Europe. If I want to have a sovereign, autonomous and strong Europe, which better controls its energy policy and migration, which is safe and less dependent on various partnerships , then we should have a partnership with those with whom we share space," he stated.
He also said that France "wants more work to be done on Serbia being a part of Europe".
"We do this as we do today, through bilateral partnerships. This strengthens our ties and common vision. And then we are dependent on each other and less dependent on those who are further away from us," Macron said.
The French president also said that the EU must simplify its rules and be less bureaucratic.
"We have to reform the EU and expand it at the same time. This includes partners from the Western Balkans, and Serbia is the first," said Macron.
Tonight, the representatives of Serbia and France exchanged 12 signed bilateral documents, among which is the contract for the purchase of 12 French multipurpose fighter planes "Rafal".
Macron described that agreement as a historic agreement and a "strategic change" that will contribute to peace in Europe and regional integration, since Greece and Croatia are also in the "Rafal Club".
"Historic Agreement and Strategic Change Contributing to Peace in Europe"
The contract by which Serbia buys 12 new French Rafale multipurpose fighter jets represents a historic agreement and a strategic change that will contribute to peace in Europe, Macron said.
When asked what guarantees he received from his Serbian partner that there would be no transfer of technology to Russia in connection with the Rafale aircraft and that Belgrade would not put pressure on others in the region such as Kosovo, Macron said that "he sees that many people resent Serbia for having partnership with Russia or with China, but now there is also with France".
"It is really a very big change. I respect the sovereignty of Serbia and I respect the partnership with other countries, but it is a strategic change that should be emphasized because it represents great courage. This is a great chance for Europe and an indicator of the European spirit," said Macron.
Macron said that the French group Dassault Aviation, whose CEO Eric Trappier signed a contract on "bursts" with Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, "always puts guarantees (in the contract) to preserve its intellectual property, skills and knowledge."
"Be sure that we did everything as it should, just as we did with other countries. There are guarantees and I have confidence that what we defined together will be the same," Macron said.
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