Serbian Infrastructure Minister Milutin Mrkonjic has stated that talks on a USD800million Russian loan were still ongoing and that he expected it to be approved after all financial elements and conditions are brought in line.

"The Russian delegation is currently in Belgrade and there are talks with the representatives of the Serbian Railways. This loan is in fact an export deal for Russian companies financed by their government, which means the funds will not be approved directly to the Serbian Railways and that there will not be ready money 'in a pile,'" Mrkonjic told daily Vecernje Novosti.

Regarding a tender for the Serbian JAT Airways and the search for a strategic partner for the airliner, Mrkonjic said the entire job had only begun and that the government had not considered any alternative solutions in case no buyers are interested.

"In any case, the government will not allow the national airliner to be shut down," he said. He voiced the conviction that the Socialist Party of Serbia, where he is the vice president, would run for the next election again with the party of pensioners and United Serbia, describing it as "a natural coalition, rallied on the principle of social justice."

Mrkonjic said the Socialists had not considered the possibility of forming a government with Tomislav Nikolic's Serbian Progressive Party, but added that he was not happy with a big coalition, as "party interests are often put above the state's," adding that this was becoming more noticeable as elections draw near.