Mali: Vucic has written to European leaders over Pristina's CoE admission

BELGRADE - Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Friday President Aleksandar Vucic had written to European leaders in the morning over the so-called Kosovo's potential admission to the Council of Europe (CoE), and said that showed Serbia would not surrender.

"We are strong economically and I am very optimistic about that, but the pressure Serbia is under right now is hurting that optimism. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is worried more than ever - the reasons for that are objective and lie in that pressure," Mali said on Happy TV.

He said the pressure was due to problems in the region - Bosnia and Herzegovina, the situation in Kosovo-Metohija - and the issue of sanctions on Russia, and noted the threat of a Srebrenica genocide resolution being passed in the UN General Assembly.

"That is serious pressure and that is why I am telling you I have never seen him (Vucic) more worried. Of course, we will do our best to find a solution," Mali said, noting that "whoever knows Vucic must know one thing - that surrender is never an option."

He said the pressure on Serbia was aimed at "finishing everything" before the European Parliament elections as well as elections in the UK and the US.

After meeting with the Republika Srpska leadership in Belgrade on Thursday evening, Vucic said Serbia would fight until the last moment against the so-called Kosovo's admission to the CoE and a draft resolution on Srebrenica.