Vučić: “Nobody wants peace” — Serbian president predicts a larger war

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has said that neither side in the conflict in Ukraine is seeking peace, and that Western countries are aiming for Russia’s defeat — a scenario he considers unlikely.

In his words, the world is on the threshold of a larger war.

Vučić, who recently hosted Ukrainian President Zelensky in Belgrade, called on Western leaders to immediately begin organizing negotiations rather than waiting for Russian forces to be exhausted.

“If I were the president of the United States or a major European leader — of Germany, France, or another country — I would not wait for the complete exhaustion of Russian forces and for the moment when Russia, as everyone assumes, will be significantly weakened by the war in Ukraine. I would work every day, tirelessly, to bring both sides to the negotiating table and stop the war as soon as possible,” the Serbian president said.

In his assessment, all parties to the conflict are currently seeking not peace but the defeat of the other side. Vučić described defeating Russia as difficult to achieve, pointing to its status as a nuclear power.

“Because if you analyze the current situation, nobody wants to see peace. Everyone wants to see the other side defeated. I don’t know whether Russia can be defeated. I think it won’t happen easily, since ultimately Russia is a nuclear power — you can’t simply go ahead and attack it,” he said.

Vučić also spoke separately about the prospects for escalation. He said he is personally convinced that a larger conflict will begin, though he declined to explain the reasons for that assessment.

“If you ask me what I personally think — and I am not going to explain why I think so — I believe we are at the beginning of a larger war. And that is precisely why I had hoped that someone would already do something to establish peace. That has not happened and will not happen anytime soon, which means we are on the edge of how much this can grow into something bigger and where it will lead,” the Serbian president added.

Previously, Vučić also stated that he sees no end to the war in Ukraine and predicted a difficult winter.