High ranking DS official reacts to Iran controversy

Dragoljub Micunovic said on Wednesday he had "never officially given any qualifying statements about any one country, including Iran". The chairman of the Serbian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee and the high ranking official of the ruling Democratic Party (DS) also said that he was surprised by the reaction of the country's embassy. High ranking DS official reacts to Iran controversy The Iranian embassy in Serbia sent a letter of protest to the Serbian Foreign Ministry over allegations that Micunovic said Iran was not a democratic country. The information about Micunovic making the statement was heard from the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) whip Milos Aligrudic during a debate in the Serbian parliament on Tuesday. "I was not even at the session yesterday afternoon. I was surprised that the Iranian ambassador was debating with me about what I said at that session. Clearly he is uninformed," said Micunovic, describing the letter complaining about his behavior as "unfair". Micunovic also told reporters on Wednesday his was a casual, rather than official statement. He said he would send a letter to Iranian Ambassador Abolghasem Delfi, and that the Iranian diplomat was was welcome to visit the Serbian parliament at any time, while the embassy "should turn to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the official position". "I will write a letter to the ambassador, unlike his, a very polite letter, I will not threaten him, but I will say that in our democratic parliament MPs can say whatever they like," he was quoted as saying. Micunovic said that the ambassador "could have come to parliament to inform himself about everything, but chose not to". "Whether a country is democratic, that's a matter of appraisal," concluded Micunovic. Dragoljub Micunovic (Tanjug, file)

High ranking DS official reacts to Iran controversy

The Iranian embassy in Serbia sent a letter of protest to the Serbian Foreign Ministry over allegations that Mićunović said Iran was not a democratic country. The information about Mićunović making the statement was heard from the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) whip Miloš Aligrudić during a debate in the Serbian parliament on Tuesday.

"I was not even at the session yesterday afternoon. I was surprised that the Iranian ambassador was debating with me about what I said at that session. Clearly he is uninformed," said Mićunović, describing the letter complaining about his behavior as "unfair".

Mićunović also told reporters on Wednesday his was a casual, rather than official statement.

He said he would send a letter to Iranian Ambassador Abolghasem Delfi, and that the Iranian diplomat was was welcome to visit the Serbian parliament at any time, while the embassy "should turn to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the official position".

"I will write a letter to the ambassador, unlike his, a very polite letter, I will not threaten him, but I will say that in our democratic parliament MPs can say whatever they like," he was quoted as saying.

Mićunović said that the ambassador "could have come to parliament to inform himself about everything, but chose not to".

"Whether a country is democratic, that's a matter of appraisal," concluded Mićunović.