Minister "hopes president respected procedures"

Minister "hopes president respected procedures"

BELGRADE -- A minister has "expressed hope" that the president "respected procedures and rules" while deciding on the participation of Serbian soldiers in a Moscow parade.

"If there is a protocol that the president of the republic makes decisions about where to send the army and if there are rules that say who are the persons that should give their opinion on that, then I hope that Tomislav Nikolic respected that," said Zorana Mihajlovic.

The minister of construction and one of the deputy prime ministers in the cabinet also told the Belgrade-based daily Danas that she hoped that Nikolic "consulted with advisers before making the decision."

Nikolic, who will himself attend the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, earlier this month decided that a number of Serbian Army (VS) soldiers will participate in the military parade Russia will organize to mark the 70th anniversary of victory over fascism.

The Danas newspaper reported earlier, quoting sources from the presidency, that Nikolic "did not consult Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic when making the decision," and that the prime minister "reacted very positively when he was informed about it."

The daily also said it was "unable to receive confirmation from Vucic's cabinet about the claims from the presidential cabinet" that the prime minister's reaction was "positive."

Nikolic on April 6 announced that the invitation came from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and that his decision for VS soldiers to participate in the parade was made in line with his powers, based on the Constitution, the Law on Defense, the Law on the Army of Serbia, and the VS Rules of Service.