He added he had entered the politics because of Vucic and held all significant positions on Vucic’s suggestion and “as long as he (the President) thinks that what we do has sense I’ll do that and fight by his side."

“I have never thought I must be anywhere at any cost,” Stefanovic told the Belgrade Vecernje Novosti daily.

He denied opposition claims he headed a faction within SNS, and said he belonged only “to Aleksandar Vucic’s faction.”

“I don’t see my political future away from Vucic,” Stefanovic said, adding that if the President retired as the SNS leader, he would not hold any public or party office either.

Commenting on the media and opposition accusations of his father’s involvement in shady arms trade deals, Stefanovic said he didn’t care about “such fabrications and here-say far from the truth,” and that “all institutions said those claims were untrue.”

Several media published documents linking the Minister’s father Branko Stefanovic to a private arms trade company and his role in its businesses which for a whistleblower revealed were damaging to the state Krusik ammunition factory and the state arms trader Jugoimport SDPR, while beneficial to private companies.

The Anti-Corruption Agency ruled there was no conflict of interest involving the Minister.

The whistleblower Aleksandar Obradovic was held in jail and under house arrest for three months for providing documents about the arms trade to a foreign journalist, accused of revealing 'business secrets.'

The authorities say he cannot be treated as a whistleblower since he hasn’t contacted the relevant institutions.

However, speaking to Nova S TV, Obradovic said he wrote to the company authority, Defence Ministry and even to Vucic warning them about his findings. He added no one responded.

Obradovic earlier said he handed over a USB with all the documents he collected in five years working at Krusik to the authorities and was waiting for them to decide whether to launch a procedure.