Vucic confirms he'll attend inauguration in Zagreb

Vucic confirms he'll attend inauguration in Zagreb

BELGRADE -- Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has confirmed that he will attend the inauguration of new Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarevic.

According to him the decision was "difficult to make" and is good neither for him personally nor for his party, the SNS.

He told a news conference in Belgrade on Thursday that he "last night received the greatest number of negative messages since taking office."

"It is our job to make decisions in line with the interest of our state and citizens. Precisely in line with the interest of our people as a whole, those in Serbia and those outside its borders, this decision was made," said Vucic.

He stressed it was made after consultations with President Tomislav Nikolic, and with the desire "to show the whole world that Serbia is a normal country."

"Stability is more important that any personal or political vanity. We are not afraid of internal problems and we do not solve them by fanning the flames of hatred toward others, but with most difficult economic measures, for which we have received recognition from people from all over the world," he was quoted as saying.

Asked whether he "talked with representatives of the international community" before deciding to travel to Zagreb, Vucic said:

"Nobody dares either call me nor ask me whether I'm going or not."

He then added:

"That is not how Serbia is talked to. Nobody asked me, either, when I was the only one to respond to the EU in a way they did not like, when everyone jumped at me like vultures. My job is not to make easy decisions, because if that were the case, I should have been elected as president of the resident's council. Nobody...