Vucic holds series of meetings in New York

NEW YORK - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic held a series of meetings at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday ahead of a UN General Assembly debate on a draft Srebrenica resolution, scheduled for early May.

Vucic met with representatives of Asian-Pacific UN member states, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, UNGA President Dennis Francis, the UN special adviser on genocide prevention and the permanent representatives of Brazil, China and Mexico.

In an Instagram post, Vucic wrote that he had informed Francis that Germany was by far the most active proponent of the draft resolution and that its sponsors wanted no postponement of a vote on the document.

"None of the proposers care about the Dayton Agreement, which they are trampling, or about stability in our region - the only thing they want is collective punishment for the Serbs. We have understood the message and we will fight until the end," Vucic noted in the post.

Speaking to reporters in New York, Vucic said that, even though many countries were expected to abstain in the vote, there was no consensus on the matter whatsoever.

He said that, if adopted, the resolution would not be binding but would be a major "moral disqualification."

He noted that some representatives in the UN had told him it was unbelievable that a small country like Serbia had been able to offer such opposition to the draft resolution.

In a post about the meeting with Guterres, Vucic reiterated Serbia was a "serious country that uncompromisingly condemns all crimes committed in war conflicts, in line with UN principles and regulations, which have also defined the difference between crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes."

He also noted that he had told the UN Special Adviser on Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu he was concerned that adopting the draft resolution could lead to further conflicts in the future and "relativise the term genocide".

He also asked Chinese Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun for support for Serbia's position.

"I asked the esteemed collocutor that, this time too, China take the side of justice and support Serbia's position. I especially thanked the Permanent Representative of PR China for the support his great country has provided to our Serbia to date in all international fori, as well as for the firm and unwavering respect of the fundamental values the UN rests upon," Vucic wrote.

On Monday, Vucic attended a UN Security Council session on the work of UNMIK, the UN mission in Kosovo-Metohija.