Serbia's nationalist president, Tomislav Nikolic, has said he will not run for reelection in the country's upcoming election and will support the candidacy of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.
"We have agreed to continue to jointly run the country," Nikolic told local media late on February 20 after talks with Vucic. "We will discuss functions after we win the election."
The populist Progressive Party nominated Vucic, who has pursued pro-European integration policies, to be its candidate in the April election on February 17.
The next day, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic announced that his Socialist Party would support Vucic and he urged Nikolic not to seek reelection.
Nikolic and Vucic issued a joint statement following their meeting that stressed the need for "unity" to resolve regional problems and avoid crises. The statement, however, did not say explicitly that Nikolic would not seek a second five-year term.
