BELGRADE, November 3. /TASS/. Serbia has been under pressure since the day when Aleksandar Vulin took office of the chief of the Serbian Security Information Service, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday, commenting on his resignation.
"It is not easy for me to comment on this because Aleksandar Vulin is my friend. I have known him for a long time and understand his reaction," Vucic said in an interview with TV Pink. "It is important to note that in any case pressure has been in place since the very beginning of his office term. He was right saying that this has been done since the first day and unequivocally."
Vucic refrained from sharing other details, saying that he doesn’t want to abuse his position.
"Vulin has never been a Russian agent and I would prefer not to say who is an agent of other countries, mostly Western, and who is a US’ errand boy. I cannot speak about this, whatever information I might have, since I cannot abuse my office," the Serbian president said.
Earlier in the day, Vulin resigned as chief of the Serbian Security Information Agency (BIA), saying that he is doing this to prevent US and EU sanctions against his country. "The United States and European Union are demanding my head as a precondition to drop the idea of sanctions against Serbia," he said, adding that he doesn’t want to be "part of the anti-Russian and anti-Serbian hysteria" and will stay committed to the "brotherhood with Russia and China."
Vucic said earlier that he was faced with a choice: either Belgrade’s sanctions against Russia or Washington’s sanctions against Vulin because of the latter’s "attitude to Russia."
According to US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill, the sanctions against Vulin include the termination of all contacts with him and a ban on his entry to the United States. However, in his words, these sanctions should not affect ties between Belgrade and Washington.
Vulin, Serbia’s former Interior Minister, was put on the American black list for his alleged participation in corruption deals promoting their personal interests in prejudice of peace of peace and stability in the Western Balkans. Moreover, according to the US Department of the Treasury, such corruption deals facilitate Russia’s malign activities in Serbia and in the entire region.