A Serbian opposition MP’s open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin drew fierce reactions from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) which claimed that he made death threats against President Aleksandar Vucic.
In his letter, MP Slavisa Ristic drew parallels between Vucic and the late Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic who was assassinated in 2003 which SNS officials interpreted as a death threat.
Ristic, a member of the New Serbia – Movement for the Salvation of Serbia (Nova Srbija – Pokret za spas Srbije which rallies moderate nationalist politicians ), wrote to Putin to ask the Russian President to help improve the position of the Kosovo Serbs because “Vucic is preparing to sign a comprehensive peace agreement with the separatists in Pristina which would de facto and de jure mean the separation of Kosovo”.
“The main reason for the president’s excessive cooperation lies in what he promised the West when he came to power. The tragic fate of the late Prime Minister Djindjic clearly warns Aleksandar Vucic about what happens to those who do not fulfil promises,” Ristic said in his letter.
The SNS reacted through its MP group chief Aleksandar Martinovic who said that SNS MPs “most sharply condemn the death threats from Slavisa Ristic against President Aleksandar Vucic and demand that the competent state bodies react urgently over these monstruous threats and take all measures under the law”.
Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic added: “These threats, coming at a moment when the President is conducting difficult negotiations to preserve Kosovo, secure peace and the security of the citizens of Serbia living in our southern province and all of Serbia, deserve every condemnation and are the height of political aggression and hypocrisy and are evidently aimed at weakening the position of Serbia and of Vucic”.
