Serbia’s interior minister Ivica Dačić remains in a serious but stable condition as he undergoes treatment for double pneumonia, doctors at Belgrade’s main clinical centre said Friday.
Spasoje Popević, assistant director of the Pulmonology Clinic at the University Clinical Centre of Serbia and the physician overseeing Dačić’s treatment, said the minister’s condition was “unchanged and stable,” adding that further diagnostic tests were being carried out.
“He is under constant monitoring. We have conducted additional examinations and will continue with supplementary tests,” Popević told reporters outside the Emergency Centre.
Dačić, who also serves as deputy prime minister and leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), was hospitalised earlier this week after being diagnosed with inflammation of both lungs. Officials have said his chronic conditions, including diabetes, complicate his recovery.
President Aleksandar Vučić, speaking during a visit to Astana, said he was concerned about Dačić’s health and that doctors were still trying to determine the full cause of his condition.
“We fear there may be something else that we do not see,” Vučić said, adding that some medical parameters had shown slight improvement but that it was too early to make predictions.
Messages of support have poured in from Serbian officials, political parties, police unions and foreign counterparts. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent a letter expressing confidence that Dačić would overcome the illness, Serbian media reported.
The Interior Ministry said numerous messages of support had been received since the start of Dačić’s hospitalisation.
Doctors said his condition remains serious but there has been no deterioration in the past 24 hours.