Sulejman Ugljanin, the president of the Bosniak National Council (BNV) in Serbia, said on Thursday he would continue his political fight for the autonomy of the country’s south-western region of Sandzak, mostly populated by Bosniaks, the Beta news agency reported.

Ugljanin said he hoped that “a normal and democratic political option will appear in Serbia”, free from the nationalistic past and ready to solve the issues of Vojvodina, Sandzak, Presevo Valley and change the constitution.

The three regions are parts of Serbia populated by ethnic minorities, with only Vojvodina in the north being pre-predominately Serb, while in the southern Presevo Valley ethnic Albanians create a majority.

“That is not only the BNV’s stand. All political parties and NGOs from Sandzak think the same,” Ugljanin told the Radio Sarajevo in an interview.

He caused a harsh discussion after inviting Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Behgjet Pacolli to visit Sandzak in his official capacity.

 Pacolli did not come since Belgrade did not grant him a permit. Serbia’s authorities and some public figures criticised Ugljanin’s invitation, seeing it as a marketing move ahead of the elections for the BNV.