Dacic: SPS ready for talks on next government

BELGRADE - The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) is ready to discuss cooperation in the next government with the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), SPS leader Ivica Dacic said on Sunday.

"We are not setting any terms for anyone, asking anything or offering ourselves to anyone," he said, adding that the SPS wanted this because it was in Serbia's best interest.

The coalitions led by the two parties, which formed the bulk of the outgoing governmnet, won 202 of 250 seats in the parliament, he noted.

It means the people valued the results of the government in EU integration, talks with Pristina and reforms, he told a news conference after a meeting of SPS top officials.

No such success in elections by a ruling coalition has been recorded in any European country with a proportional system, he said.
"With all this in mind, the SPS is ready to discuss further cooperation with the SNS and its leader Aleksandar Vucic if the SNS wants that," Dacic pointed out.

Should the SPS go into opposition, it will still support everything that is in Serbia's interest.

The meeting between the SPS top officials on Sunday was used to analyze the results of the snap parliamentary poll and Dacic stated the party was pleased because its coalition won 44 seats in the parliament.

He was particularly pleased that the SPS led coalition scored the best results in Kosovo, because he had negotiated a normalization of the relations with Pristina in Brussels.