BELGRADE, March 13. /TASS/. Belgrade maintains ties with NATO but wants to preserve its neutral status and will not join the alliance, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Radio Television of Serbia, the country’s public broadcaster.

"As far as NATO is concerned, we are maintaining consistent relations, but we will not join NATO and will preserve our neutral status," Vucic said.

On May 7, the Serbian president made an announcement about joint exercises with NATO countries due in May. However, he said Belgrade would not forget the alliance’s aggression against Yugoslavia in 1999.