Vučić and Mali shared sandwiches and burgers on the train, Serbian president made a snack for supporters

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Finance Minister Siniša Mali took a train from Belgrade with supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to the "We Meet at Sretenje" rally, on the occasion of Statehood Day, in Sremska Mitrovica.

Vučić told reporters on the train that eight trains had left Belgrade for Sremska Mitrovica, that the bus lines in front of the city were 12 kilometers long, and that he expected between 120.000 and 130.000 people to gather.

Asked whether a large number of people from Republika Srpska would be attending the rally, Vučić said that there would be 800 or 900 of them, but that he was "infinitely grateful to them for coming."

Minister Siniša Mali played music over the loudspeaker on the train before departure, and one of the songs he chose was "Čuvaj mi se sine" by musician Baja Mali Knindža.

They were handing out sandwiches and burgers to those gathered on the train, reports the Beta agency.

Vučić also referred to the announcement by the leader of the New Democratic Party of Serbia (Novi DSS), Miloš Jovanović, that he would block Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, stating that he "will never be able to do that."

Vučić called his supporters to a rally in Sremska Mitrovica at 17 p.m. today, saying that they will "defend and preserve Serbia from those who would destroy it."

It was announced that the "People's Declaration on Vojvodina in Serbia", the text of which was published yesterday, is expected to be adopted by acclamation at the gathering.

According to Vučić, this declaration is "an important barrier to separatism."

The gathering will be on a plateau in front of the "Pinki" Sports and Business Center, where Vučić and the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik will speak.

The rally was previously announced to begin at 16 p.m., but the president's latest announcement indicates that it will still begin an hour later.

On the eve of this "people's assembly" on the occasion of Serbia's Statehood Day, on the religious holiday of Sretenje, Vučić posted a video of himself making a snack for the supporters who would be attending and stated who was paying.

"(Finance Minister Siniša) Mali will buy burgers and kebabs for people traveling by train... We pay for some of it, the (Serbian Progressive) Party pays for the bulk, but neither USAID, NED, nor anyone else pays, so there's no real feast here - mayonnaise, cheese, a little ham, and a few Parisiennes, and I think people will be very satisfied. We sandwich makers have a much more important job, to defend and preserve Serbia from those who want to destroy it," Vučić said in an Instagram post.

The name of the rally in Sremska Mitrovica, to which Vučić invited citizens, is "Let's Meet at Sretenje", while a mass protest rally called "Let's Meet at Sretenje" was previously called in Kragujevac from this morning until after midnight.

Thousands of students and citizens came to the rally in Kragujevac spontaneously, many walking for days, while, according to media reports, the trip to Sremska Mitrovica was organized by buses, for which settlements and public companies were given binding "quotas" - the number of passengers they should send.

Speaking today in the context of months of student protests and blockades, Vučić estimated that it would "take months" to get the country back on "good track".

"After a terrible January and an equally bad February, we will need months to change things and arrange them in a different way," Vučić told reporters on the train he was taking with supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to Sremska Mitrovica, for a rally marking Statehood Day - Sretenje.

According to him, most of the people in Serbia are confused and worried, but "a big change is happening compared to three or four weeks ago."

"People are aware that daily protests and blockades represent an increasing problem for the country and its economy and functioning. Accordingly, the people's dissatisfaction is increasing and the pendulum of anger has completely swung from one side to the other," Vučić said.

He said that this was not a reason for joy on the part of the authorities, but that it would take "a lot of effort and work to talk to these people."

"We are fighting for them to learn what democracy is, to respect the will of the people, but at the same time for us to hear them, talk to them and try to get the country back on track, which will not be easy at all," he said.

Speaking about US sanctions on the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS), he said that he should soon speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić will meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Monday.