"Any normal country would ban Ugljanin's party" - FM

"Any normal country would ban Ugljanin's party" - FM

The behavior of the SDA Sandzak party leader - a Bosniak (Muslim) politician who was for many years a member of the Serbian government - "undermines the territorial integrity of the country," Dacic told TV Prva.

"This may also be about the similar political goals shared by (Kosovo President Hashim) Thaci and Ugljanin," he observed, and added:

"While he (Ugljanin) was a minister, he didn't behave like that. It's a bad thing when somebody changes their political convictions depending on the position they hold."

In this case, Dacic continued, Ugljanin "made a big mistake - it's damaging what he did, especially if he thinks it will benefit him in the elections."

"I really want to see whom he'll endorse for president. He certainly won't support (Aleksandar) Vucic, that is, our candidate - then let's see which of the (other) candidates would like to be backed by Ugljanin with this kind of image - Vuk Jeremic, Sasa Jankovic..?," wondered Dacic.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic also commented on Ugljanin's trip to Pristina and his statements made there, to say the decision to keep the SDA leader out of his current cabinet was "correct."

"That is one of the key reasons why he is not a part of the government," Vucic said.

Ugljanin, who also serves as president of the Bosniak National Council, went to Pristina and congratulated Thaci on "the good results achieved in building a democratic, multi-national, multi-confessional European state based on the rule of law, legal safety, and equality before the law."

Kosovo is Serbia's southern province where ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence in early 2008 - a move the country considers a violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty.