Welcome to Hard Talk from the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker. For this interview being

recorded on the 20th of November, I've journeyed to the Serbian capital Belgrade for an exclusive

interview with a leader who has become a pivotal figure in the turbulent politics of the Western Balkans,

the president of Serbia, Alexander Vuchich.

He rose to prominence as a firebrand advocate of Serbian nationalism, who served in the

government of Slobodan Milosevic, as he pursued dreams of forging a greater Serbia from the

rubble of the former Yugoslavia.

A generation later, how does Serbia now see its place in this strategically vital and turbulent

region? Well, Belgrade still bitterly opposes the independence of Kosovo, which it still

sees as Serb territory, and the rhetoric of greater

Serb unity still prompts concern in neighbouring Bosnia and Croatia.

The government here is theoretically committed to a long-standing bid for EU membership,

but in reality that application is in limbo, as President Vucic

has deepened economic and political ties with Serbia's long-standing ally Russia and newer friend,

China. So will Serbia prioritise its relationship with the liberal democracies to the West or the authoritarian allies to the

East. Is there, in fact, an alternative to play off one block against the other? Well, President

Alexander Vouchich joins me now. Welcome to Hard Talk. Thank you for having me. It's a great pleasure

to be here in Belgrade with you.

Let me ask a question at the beginning which links the past and the present. When you were a young man,

you were a member of the Serbian Radical Party. You were ideologically committed to the vision of a greater Serbia, a vision which led to dark

times in the Balkans, to war, to terrible loss of life, to war crimes. Today, you're the

President of Serbia. You are in a different political party.

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