Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told a meeting of his party’s top body that parliamentary elections would be held late in March of early in April 2020 and warned of changes at local level to make room for new people.
He said those elections will be “the hardest because many people want Serbia to stop being a sovereign and independent country” while others “want to rob it even more”.
Former President of Serbia and Social Democratic Party leader Boris Tadis told Belgrade media that foreigners asked the opposition not to disturb the public because President Aleksandar Vucic promised them Kosovo, reported Serbian media.
Speaking for Belgrade based daily Blic, Tadic said that no one can tell when will the solution for Kosovo happen but that he finds it more important what kind of solution that will be.
Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia's President, said on Wednesday that his country and Russia had strategic and partner relations of mutual respect and understanding, the Beta news agency reported.
During a celebration of the Russian Day at Moscow's embassy in Belgrade, Vucic said that "every big day for Russia is equally big and important for Serbia."
He read the congratulatory note he sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he said he was "sincerely happy for Russian achievements."
The Kosovo authorities marked the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of Serbian security forces at an event in central Pristina which was attended by former US officials and NATO commanders, while Director of the office for KiM Marko Djuric, a Belgrade official described the event as "the dance of the vampires," the Beta news agency reported.
Kosovo border police officers opened fire at a van with Serbian licence plates after the driver refused to stop, a Kosovo police spokesman told the media, reports regional broadcaster N1, quoting Beta news agency.
Belgrade based daily Politika reports on Wednesday that French President Emmanuel Macron would visit Serbia on July 15-16, a day after the French national holiday.
The fact that Macron will pay a two-day visit shows a desire by official Paris to confirm and continue strengthening the good relations between France and Serbia, the pro-government daily said, adding that this includes trade which stands at around one billion Euros a year.
A study by the Ninamedia agency as a part of Atlantic Council of Serbia project “Euro-Atlantic Integration in Serbia’s media” showed that 89 percent of people in the country were against its membership to NATO, while the majority of them, 73 percent, did not even know there was no war in NATO member states, the Beta news agency reported on Tuesday.
The US ambassador to Belgrade Kyle Scott told reporters he was not surprised with the results because the people in Serbia did not forget the 1999 NATO military intervention.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer said on Monday that Washington wants Pristina to revoke the 100 percent tariffs imposed on goods from Serbia so that both sides can return to negotiations and reach an agreement for the sake of the entire region, reported Beta news agency.
Speaking after a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Palmer said that an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina would make the European future of Serbia and Kosovo and the Western Balkans region easier to achieve.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Belgrade based daily Politika that peace and stability in Kosovo has been a priority for this alliance for past 20 years and that the UN mandate for the NATO peacekeeping mission remains unchanged.
Foreign Affairs Minister Ivica Dacic will represent Serbia at the UN Security Council session on Monday, when the report of the General Secretary on the work of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) from January 16 to May 15 will be discussed, the Ministry said on Sunday.