Vucic: Milutinovic was one of Socialists' most outstanding figures

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday former president Milan Milutinovic, who died last weekend, had been one of the most outstanding figures in the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and would remain a significant part of the political organisation.

Is there a greater honour than to be at the helm of Serbia and its peoples, who have always been trying to live in peace, Vucic said at a commemorative ceremony following Milutinovic's passing.

"Is there a greater task in the world than the position that was held by Milutinovic? The Serbs and their leaders - the Nemanjic rulers, the Karadjordjevics, the Obrenovics - have never had it easy. However, we can view their dilemmas and examples through the lens of the passage of time and from a safe historical distance," Vucic said.

"Milutinovic was a contemporary of ours who held the most responsible posts in the country in difficult, or perhaps the most difficult, times for our people," Vucic said.

The ceremony was held in the Serbian parliament.

Milutinovic, who also served as Yugoslav FM and SPS deputy leader, died on Sunday aged 80.