Serbian defense minister replaces President Aleksandar Vucic as party leader

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic has been elected the new president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) after President Aleksandar Vucic stepped down.

Vucic stepped down as the party leader on Friday and Vucevic was elected as the new head in the extraordinary session of the SNS Assembly in Kragujevac city on Saturday.

Vucevic said that the policy of the SNS will not change and that it will continue to be the engine of Serbia's development.

"We are opening a new chapter in our book. Our policy will not change, we remain a party that is the engine of the development of our homeland, but also a party that nurtures and preserves the traditional values of the Serbian people, of all citizens of Serbia, which will politically advocate for the preservation of Kosovo and Metohija as part of Serbia, which will take care of the interests of the Serbian community wherever they live, primarily in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and the party that will be the most reliable partner to the President of the Republic Vucic," the new party head said.

Vucic said on Friday that he will form the Movement for the People and the State, which according to him, will serve Serbia in the coming two to three years for a crucial period.

He was head of SNS since 2012 after Tomislav Nikolic was elected president of the country.

Serbia, which aspires to become an EU member, has resisted implementing Western sanctions on Russia.

Vucic has repeatedly said he is being pressured by Western allies to sanction Russia.

Russia backs Serbia's refusal to recognize the independence of its former province of Kosovo-an issue that recently exacerbated tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.