Vucic thanks Vulin for his contribution to national security

BELGRADE - In a reaction to Security Information Agency chief Aleksandar Vulin's resignation, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday evening it was true there had been pressure from the first day since Vulin's appointment to the post, and thanked him for his contribution to the preservation of national security.

"Vulin is also a friend of mine with whom I have spent a lot of time, I also understand his reaction, but it is not like his head is gone, or anything of the sort. There was pressure from the first day since his appointment to that duty, and it was unequivocal," Vucic told Pink TV.

"I can still not make comments because things are now a bit easier for him than for me, while I am still unable to comment on all things, simply because I am president of the Republic, but also because I am obliged to safeguard secrets, and I cannot speak about such things," Vucic said.

He said that, in any case, he wanted to thank Vulin for his contribution to preserving Serbia's security and independence.

"I look forward to collaborating with him in the future, it is not the end of life or the end of joint success," Vucic said.

He noted that Vulin had never been a Russian agent but had worked exclusively for Serbia.

Earlier in the day, Vulin announced he had tendered his irrevocable resignation because the US and the EU wanted his "head as a precondition for not imposing sanctions on Serbia."

"They want us to recognise Kosovo, to abandon Republika Srpska and to stop being a sovereign country and nation by imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation," Vulin said in a statement.