Vucic: Serbia Had 'No Grounds' to Arrest Gruevski

Aleksandar Vucic confirmed on Monday evening that Nikola Gruevski, who fled last week as he was due to start a two-year jail term in Macedonia, exited Serbia at the Tompa-Horgos-Roszke border crossing with Hungary on November 12, the same day as he arrived in Serbia from Montenegro.

Vucic argued that at the time Gruevski transited Serbia, his stay in the country was legal, and that he had an identity document and a special travel document issued by Hungary.

The Serbian president said that no international arrest warrant had been issued for Gruevski at that point, and so Serbia had no grounds to apprehend him.

"Interpol Skopje sent us the arrest warrant on November 13 at 7.35 pm. What do you expect? Should we arrest people without a warrant?" Vucic told the 'Cirilica' talk show on Serbia's Happy TV.

He argued that the real question that should be answered is how Gruevski, who had his passport taken away by the Macedonian authorities, left Macedonia in the first place and fled to neighbouring Albania.

The Albanian and Montenegrin police confirmed last week that Gruevski used their territory to reach Serbia and eventually Hungary, where he is now applying for a political asylum.

Also on Monday, Macedonia's Foreign Ministry summoned the Hungarian ambassador to Skopje, Lsszlo Dux, to hand him a protest note in which it demanded the immediate rejection of Gruevski's asylum request and his extradition to Macedonia.

Macedonian Foreign Affairs State Secretary Viktor Dimovski said he hoped that "Hungary will act in the spirit of good bilateral relations and European values and principles related to the rule of law", according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Gruevski fled Macedonia on November 11, a day...