I defeated Bulgaria's intelligence network in Serbia. The Bulgarians accepted the arrest of their agents silently and without protest.
The Serbs are most supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin; they like his courage and tenacity and especially appreciate the fact that he has not abandoned the traditional value system of 'God, nation, family'.
Serbia and Russia have a common future and we must build it. If Russia had not survived all these centuries, Serbia would not have survived either. If Russia suddenly perished, Serbia would perish too.
NATO killed international law. The main Anglo-Saxon war criminals who trampled on international law and unleashed the war against the Serbian people in 1999 were Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Tony Blair.
I will remain a comrade and friend of President Aleksandar Vucic and will support him in our common struggle for a free Serbia.
This is what Aleksandar Vulin, one of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's closest associates, former defence minister of Serbia and former head of its intelligence service, said in a lengthy interview with National Defence. He was the closest to Yugoslav dictator Milosevic and his wife Mira Markovic. In January this year, Vulin was awarded Russia's Order of Friendship for his "enormous personal services to the development and deepening of cooperation between the Serbian Security and Information Agency (BIA) and the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)."
BGNES news agency published the full text of the interview without any editorial interference:
Question: The 24th of March marks the 25th anniversary of the beginning of NATO aggression against Yugoslavia. These events took the lives of hundreds of innocent people, marked the beginning of the end of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and caused enormous material and environmental damage to the territory of present-day Serbia. I would like to begin this interview with your assessment of these events.
Aleksandar Vulin: NATO aggression should have killed Serbia, but it killed international law. Serbia stood up and survived, but not international law. NATO's bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was the apex of the unipolar world and clearly showed Russia and China and all other independent and free countries what awaits them if the world does not change. Our army proved that resistance was possible and that despite the enemy's incredible superiority in manpower and military equipment, it was not enough to decide the North Atlantic alliance of land invasion.
Thanks to the stubborn resistance of the army and the people, Belgrade was able to achieve the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, allowing an end to NATO aggression against FRY, which left room for the continuation of the struggle, but our army was forced to withdraw from Kosovo and Metohija. As expected, the West eventually deceived Serbia - just as it had previously deceived the USSR by saying that NATO would not expand eastwards, or as the West deceived Russia by promising that it would respect the Minsk agreements.
NATO has assumed responsibility for the security and lives of all those on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, but the North Atlantic Alliance has never allowed the return to Kosovo and Metohija of some three hundred thousand Serbs and other non-Serbs who were expelled by the Kosovo Liberation Army, a terrorist organisation of the Shiptars (Albanians), with the support of the United States of America.
With the patronage and complete indifference of NATO, from 17 to 19 March 2004, the KFOR mission allowed the destruction of more than 117 Orthodox churches and monasteries on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, the murder of dozens of Serbs and the expulsion of thousands of Serbs through ethnic cleansing.
Serbs are still dying of cancer caused by the use of depleted uranium munitions by NATO forces - unfortunately, we are first in Europe in the number of people suffering from lung cancer.
The aggression of the NATO bloc against the FRY is the last massive and unpunished crime of the bloody twentieth century. Perhaps God will forgive them, but we Serbs will not forgive them!
The main Anglo-Saxon war criminals who trampled on international law and unleashed war against the Serbian people in 1999 were Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Tony Blair.
Question: How would you characterise the current military and political situation in the Balkans? What interests is the West pursuing there?
Aleksandar Vulin: The West in the Balkans (as in any other part of the world) pursues only its own interests, which consist in the fact that the largest and often the only state-forming nation in the Balkans - the Serbian one - should be fragmented, divided into several states and weakened as much as possible. Bismarck is credited with the statement that 'any Serbia is too big a Serbia', and we are still confronted with this policy today.
The West knows that the Serbs as a people are sincere and reliable allies of the Russians, and that even the occupation and complete control of Serbia after the October 2000 coup, which lasted until 2012, could not change anything. That is why NATO is doing everything possible to impose on the Serbs a government that will oppose Russia against the will of the Serbian people. NATO - with the exception of Serbia and Republika Srpska - has established complete control over the Balkans and created a hostile space for everything that comes from Russia.
Since all the countries in the Balkans, with the exception of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), are members of the North Atlantic Alliance and are under the full control of the EU, the US and the UK, the West is trying to put the territories where Serbs live and make decisions under its full control.
Of greatest interest to NATO is the overthrow of President Aleksandar Vucic. Bringing an obedient government to power in Serbia solves all their problems. Such a government would recognise the so-called Kosovo, join Western sanctions against Russia, move towards the NATO bloc and withdraw its support for Republika Srpska.
Aleksandar Vulin and Sergey Lavrov
Question: Which security threats are of greatest concern to Serbia today?
Aleksandar Vulin: At the time when I was Minister of Defence, I had the honour of presenting to the Parliament Serbia's Defence Strategy, which is the most important strategic document in the field of security. In this strategy, which has the force of law, we declared military neutrality, but we also stated that any threat to the Republika Srpska is a threat to Serbia itself.
The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the West's desire to settle relations there by force, and the attempts to exclude the people of Republika Srpska from resolving common issues in BiH are cause for concern. Throughout the years since the Dayton Agreement, Western policy has been aimed at minimising Republika Srpska's influence and blaming the Serbs for the lack of progress in inter-ethnic dialogue. Overall, of course, the complex situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has exacerbated the situation in the Balkans.
The persecution of President Milorad Dodik and other politicians who oppose the changes to the Dayton Agreement, the attempts to confiscate Republika Srpska property, the threats to increase the EU's military presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the constant demands that the events in Srebrenica be recognised as genocide, and then to declare the Republika Srpska a genocidal entity and, by that logic, to abolish it - all of this poses a serious threat to the existence of Serbs living to the west of Serbia.
All wars in the Balkans begin when the great powers try to destroy the Serbs. The attempt to create a 'Greater Albania' is no less a challenge to peace. The Shiptars in the Balkans make up 25% of the total population, but at the moment, with strong support from the West, they have prime ministers in Albania, North Macedonia, so-called Kosovo; until recently a Shiptarian was prime minister of Montenegro too.
"Greater Albania" is a geopolitical project of the West, the aim of which is to permanently contain the Serbs and nullify Serbian influence in the Balkans, and thus prevent Russian presence there. "A 'Greater Albania' cannot be created without military conflict with Serbia, and this is the aim of the Shiptars: to drag Belgrade into a war that the NATO bloc will again wage against Serbia.
Serbia's main objective is peace, but peace requires at least two countries, while war requires one country.
Question: What is the mood and what are the political sympathies in contemporary Serbian society?
Aleksandar Vulin: It is undeniable that President Aleksandar Vucic enjoys the greatest trust among Serbs, regardless of where they live. Politically, he has become the president of all Serbs, not just the president of Serbia. The pro-Western, pro-NATO opposition has its supporters, but not enough to come to power in a legitimate way.
Of foreign statesmen, Serbs undoubtedly support Russian President Vladimir Putin the most; they like his courage and tenacity and especially appreciate the fact that he has not abandoned the traditional value system of "God, nation, family".
We can recall 2015, when, at the request of President Vucic, President Putin blocked the adoption of a British-initiated resolution in the UN Security Council, according to which the Serbs were to be declared the first people in modern history guilty of genocide.
After the two world wars initiated by Germany, after the extermination of the indigenous populations of Africa, Asia, Australia, South and North America by the white colonisers, after the Croatian genocide against the Serbs in Jasenovac and the bombing of Serbia by the NATO bloc, the Serbs were to be blamed for genocide in Srebrenica, but this was prevented by the intervention of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia's principled position on Kosovo and Metohija, as well as our economic cooperation, are highly valued in Serbia.
China and President Xi Jinping are also highly valued by us, and we appreciate his significant contribution to Serbia's development and his support for Belgrade in international forums.
Serbs increasingly have less faith in the promises of the European Union; according to recent opinion polls, 80% of Serbs oppose our country joining NATO.
The Serbs are a people who value freedom above all else and who have decisive influence when it comes to politics.
Aleksandar Vucic and Aleksandar Vulin
Question: Numerous facts have recently come to light about intelligence and subversive activities by a number of foreign intelligence services on Serbian territory. Given that the operational development of this category of foreign agents began while you were in charge of the Security and Information Agency (BIA), how would you comment on this?
Aleksandar Vulin: I took an oath to protect and defend Serbia, I take my duties seriously and I am faithful to my professional duty. After my appointment as head of the ASI, we defeated the intelligence network first of Croatia, then of Bulgaria; the necessary operational measures were taken to neutralise the intelligence network of Albania and of some other supranational organisations working in the interests of Western intelligence services. Such successes have been achieved for the first time in many years. This is, of course, a credit to the employees of the Security and Information Agency, true Serbian patriots.
We are successful professionals, but we are not mercenaries who can do everything for everyone; we work for Serbia and the Serbian people. We act for the good of our country. I am proud of the time when I was the head of the ASI; we clearly demonstrated that we can successfully counter even the larger and financially backed foreign intelligence services by disarming their agents.
When we told the representatives of the Croatian intelligence service, the SOA, that we had all the evidence of their illegal activities, and offered them to recall the head of the Croatian intelligence network in Serbia without further ado and without formal expulsion, they told us that they were 'members of the EU and NATO and that Croatia would be able to respond to Serbia'. They could not believe that we had all the supporting operational material. There was also an expectation in Zagreb that I would quickly be replaced as head of the ASI, which gave the Croats hope that their intelligence network in Serbia would remain intact.
Of course, they were wrong, and the resident of the SOA - the first secretary of the Croatian embassy Hrvoje Schneider - was declared persona non grata and expelled from Serbia. At the same time, the activities of the agent network he had set up were suppressed.
The Bulgarians and the Shiptars proved to be smarter; following the example of the Croats, they accepted the arrest of their agents in Serbia silently and without protest.
Question: Do you understand the mechanisms used by the hostile forces in Serbia who tried to organise a 'colour revolution' in Belgrade in December 2023 to prevent the results of the extraordinary parliamentary elections from being recognised?
Aleksandar Vulin: After the overthrow of President Slobodan Milosevic, the West successfully carried out one of its first "colour revolutions", so we in Serbia have already understood from this example the danger they represent and the mechanisms used to put them into practice. "The 'colour revolutions' are a way of overthrowing national governments that are unwanted by the West, national traitors come to power, then judicial and even physical altercations with the patriots begin, and then predatory privatisation begins.
'Colour revolutions' often lead to wars and always lead to prolonged political and economic instability. In the summer of 2023, we observed the preparations for a 'colour revolution' in Serbia, and we found out where the threats come from. We knew that the alleged civil protests against violence were only preparations for political violence that would then replace the existing Serbian government.
Everything was being carried out according to a known and prepared script. After a 12-year-old boy murdered nine of his peers and a security guard in a Belgrade school, and another perpetrator killed several of his neighbours in the town of Dubona, these massacres caused a natural shock in society and were used by the pro-Western opposition to criticise the current government on a large scale. These tragedies have been used as a pretext to activate anti-national political forces and as a point of consolidation for the disaffected. Particular opposition figures were behind the civil processions, but they did not initially publicise their participation. The scale of public discontent was raised by the Western-controlled media, which supported the actions of the protesting activists and inflated the number of participants, encouraging the indecisive to join the opposition.
Over time, Western-linked opposition politicians began to play an increasingly active role in the protest movement. No longer about fighting violence or commemorating the tragic victims, civil rallies became a political battering ram aimed at toppling and replacing key ministers in the government and security services and calling snap elections. The NATO-linked opposition is receiving support from abroad, with liberal politicians from the region and the EU protesting alongside it, and the media reporting a "pre-revolutionary atmosphere".
They tried to provoke the incident in order to intensify the protests and increase their numbers. When the authorities announced the snap parliamentary elections - the Western media and the opposition linked to NATO countries declared victory, and their whole campaign was aimed at preparing public opinion and opposition supporters that the elections would ultimately be rigged and that the opposition should take power in the country by force.
The leaders of the pro-Western opposition planned to take over the Republican Election Commission building on election night and call for a movement blockade throughout Serbia. The convincing victory in the early parliamentary elections of the coalition of President Aleksandar Vucic and our list stunned and limited the opposition and caused fear when they realised that we were aware of their plans. However, the opposition could not stop - it had to work with funding from foreign countries; so it resorted to violence, even though it realised that it would eventually be defeated.
In such a situation, Western countries wanted to check whether the Serbian security forces were loyal to President Vucic and how they would behave in a critical situation. The decisive actions of the police and the trained and knowledgeable Security and Information Agency were very effective. I would also like to thank the Russian security services, which warned us in time of the preparations for a coup d'état.
Vulin on a visit to the Russian Foreign Ministry
Question: How do you assess the current state of Russian-Serbian relations? What should be done to further develop and strengthen them?
Aleksandar Vulin: We are not a club of Dostoevsky admirers, and Serbian-Russian relations are not only related to our past, culture or religion. Serbia and Russia have a common future and we need to build it. If Russia had not survived all these centuries, Serbia would not have survived either. If Russia suddenly perished, Serbia would perish too. We are inextricably linked.
Serbia is far away from Russia, it is surrounded by NATO members, but it has an independent policy. Russia understands our realities and problems and I am sure it knows that President Vucic is pursuing a libertarian policy that has preserved our relations in difficult times. Russia does not yet have a more sincere friend in Europe in Serbia, and we have proved it. I hope that this is appreciated and understood and will not be forgotten in the future.
Question: It is known that at the time when you headed the Security and Information Agency, contacts between it and the Russian special services were actively developing. How would you assess the level of cooperation achieved and how would you characterise the priority areas of this cooperation?
Aleksandar Vulin: Intelligence services cooperate with each other, and our role is to create opportunities for communication between government officials. I am impressed by the level of knowledge and professionalism of the Russian security services. The SVR and FSB are led by highly qualified and educated professionals, as well as sincere patriots who proudly demonstrate their loyalty to President Putin and Russia.
I learned a great deal from Patrushev, Naryshkin and Bortnikov, and it remained a great experience for me.
I love Serbia and everything I have done and am doing is in the interests of Serbia and the Serbian people. I will never do anything that could harm Serbia. Our cooperation is mutually beneficial and necessary because there is not a single problematic issue between Serbia and Russia.
Serbia does not recognise the so-called Kosovo - Russia firmly holds the same position; Serbia insists on the Dayton potential of the Republika Srpska - Russia does the same. Serbia intends to remain militarily neutral and refuses NATO membership - Russia supports our choice; Serbia wants to form its own government - Russia is fully on our side in this respect; Serbia plans to develop active trade and economic cooperation with all countries - Russia is actively helping us and not hindering us.
That is why it is easy for me, as a Serbian patriot, to talk about expanding the cooperation of our special services. The problem is another - how can we cooperate with those who recognise Kosovo, who demand that we give up the Republika Srpska, that we join NATO, that we impose sanctions against Russia? It is impossible to cooperate with the special services of Western countries and remain a consistent defender of Serbia's interests.
Question: The United States once imposed personal sanctions against you as the acting head of Serbia's leading intelligence service, the BIA, and a supporter of the active development of relations between Belgrade and Moscow. At the end of 2023, you resigned in order to prevent US sanctions against Serbia. How do you see your political future? Do you remain a member of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's team?
Aleksandar Vulin: The sanctions against me were not imposed immediately, at first there were warnings. I was asked to change my political position, to refuse to cooperate with Russia and China, to stop advocating Serbia's entry into BRICS, to stop supporting Serbian peace and our country's military neutrality. The West always tries to bribe or blackmail first, and if that does not work, then sanctions are imposed. President Vucic offered me the chance to decide everything myself, and I decided that it would be better for me to leave with honour than to be used as an excuse for the West to impose sanctions on Serbia.
The US wants to use me as an example, to show everyone what fate awaits anyone who opposes American hegemony and consistently defends the national interests of their country. I am fully aware that the United States will persecute me for the rest of my life and that my political career will be threatened or ended - but that is no reason to betray my people and Serbia's friends, such as Russia and China.
The West is putting enormous pressure on President Vucic to prevent me from holding any important post in the government of the Republic of Serbia - they are not hiding it. Well, even if they succeed, I will remain a comrade and friend of President Vucic and will support him in our common struggle for a free Serbia. / BGNES
