Serbian President Briefly Hospitalized Upon Return from U.S.

VMA Hospital (Beta/Branislav Bozic)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who cut short a visit to the U.S. short after he took ill ahead of an informal meeting with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, was briefly hospitalized in Belgrade on May 3 and is in stable condition.

Vucic left the Military Medical Academy a little after 5 p.m. and "told me he felt better," Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali told the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation. A few hours earlier, Vucic, 55, was "admitted to the Military Medical Academy immediately upon landing."

According to Mali, who was traveling with Vucic, the Serbian president took ill on May 2 while preparing for an informal sit-down with Trump. Immediately before Vucic was discharged, cardiologist Dragan Dincic told media outlets that his condition was stable and satisfactory, adding that he had experienced strong chest pain in the U.S. and that American doctors had later noted very high blood pressure readings.

Vucic's symptoms appeared just days before an announced visit to Moscow to attend the 80th anniversay of victory over Nazi Germany on May 9. "I cannot say at this time if the president will go or not. He will address the public himself after he recovers," Mali said.