Vucic: Juratovic does not speak against me, but against Serbia

NIS - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday Bundestag member Josip Juratovic did not speak against him but against Serbia because he had always been against the Serbs.

Vucic was speaking to reporters during a tour of the new terminal building at the Constantine the Great Airport in Nis.

Asked to comment on Juratovic's statement that lithium was "keeping Vucic in power" and that Germany and the EU were unable to guarantee any standards of lithium mining in Serbia without functioning democratic institutions in the country, Vucic said nothing could keep Juratovic in power and that he would "crash" in elections.

He added that any car mechanic in Serbia was smarter than Juratovic, a former mechanic.

"But Juratovic hates Serbia so much that I understand him. He has always hated the Serbs, he has always hated Serbia, whatever he might be saying. He does not speak against me, he speaks against Serbia," Vucic said.

"Juratovic was the main backer of the Srebrenica resolution, the biggest lobbyist for an independent Kosovo, the biggest lobbyist for sanctions on Serbia, the biggest opponent of anything that is Serbian," he said, noting that Juratovic had suddenly become one of the few opponents of lithium in Germany.