Vucic: Still no news from US about NIS, major meeting due on Tuesday

MIONICA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday there was still no news from the US about Serbia's Russian-majority owned oil company NIS and that a major meeting would be held on Tuesday to address the issue.

NIS is under US sanctions, and Washington's response to a request for a new operating licence for the company is still pending.

Vucic said a difficult period was ahead of Serbia but that the country had prepared for it.

"I have no news whatsoever, and I do not believe there will be any. A difficult period is ahead of us, but we have prepared. We will have a major meeting at 10.30 am tomorrow, we must prepare all moves by then, and we will inform you of what we are doing," Vucic told reporters during a visit to a village near Mionica, western Serbia.

Vucic: Parliamentary elections due within a year at the latest

MIONICA - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday parliamentary elections in the country would be held within a year at the latest and that competent institutions would decide whether presidential elections would also be held at the same time.

"Today, we officially entered an electoral year and there is no doubt that we will have elections within a year at the latest," Vucic told reporters during a visit to a village near Mionica, western Serbia.

He said preparations for the elections would follow and that it remained to be seen who would run in the elections and how many electoral lists there would be.

"And whether there will be only parliamentary elections, or parliamentary and presidential elections will be held at the same time, but the competent institutions will make a decision on that," he added.