Gouillon: Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy to promote Serbia, defend its interests

BELGRADE - The director of the Serbian Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy Arnaud Gouillon said on Tuesday the office would be defending Serbian interests and the truth and promoting Serbian culture.

Gouillon said French politician Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party as well as French President Emmanuel Macron had done much for the Serbs and that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had succeeded in establishing a connection and personal contacts with Macron that were important for Serbian diplomacy.

"That is really an incredible thing that has helped Serbian interests, and Serbia, in various diplomatic battles in a concrete manner. That is a very important thing and our job is to cooperate with all governments in the world regardless of their makeup and to have the best and closest possible relations with all of them," he said.

He said Serbia should not interfere in elections in other countries.

He added that several French politicians with Serbian roots had made it into the European Parliament.

"In the previous French parliament, there was also a Serb woman who hails from Loznica (western Serbia) and was a member of Macron's party," French-born Gouillon said.

People join various political parties, but wherever we are in the world, we can do something positive at political, humanitarian and media levels, he said.

"We have three candidates for the French parliament and also one in Austria for the Austrian parliament, for the parliamentary elections in late September. Those are positive things for those countries, too, because, that way, they show respect to all, regardless of their origin, which is good for Serbia," Gouillon said.

He said the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy would publish truthful news about Serbia and the Serbs in foreign languages to change the false image of Serbia.