Seselj set a Croatian flag on fire outside a court building in Belgrade earlier in the day, saying that he wanted to send a message to the "Croatian Ustasha state" as a response to demands made by Croatian state officials that he be sent back to the detention unit of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
"The photos... of the burning flag send a bad message from Belgrade. The fact that we will say that it has nothing with the state - and it does not - and the fact that we will say that this is being done by representatives of a non-parliamentary party, will not significantly improve our reputation or make it different," Vucic told the RTS public broadcaster from Bratislava, where he was on an official visit.
The Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Ministry today sent a protest note to the charge d'affaires at the Serbian embassy in Croatia, Bosa Prodanovic, and Croatian Ambassador to Serbia Gordan Markotic will be summoned to Zagreb for consultations.
Vucic said that as soon as he returned to Belgrade, he would phone his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanovic.
"It is our duty to try to restore calm and reason. This is important also because of the Serbs who live in Croatia and because of our future relations. As soon as I return from Slovakia, I will telephone Mr Milanovic and whether he will want to talk to me is a different matter, but I will definitely call him. I believe that Croatia and Serbia should cooperate much better," said Vucic.
He said that Serbian authorities would do their best to "stop any kind of rhetoric that would continue to stir up bad emotions."
"On the other hand, I will request PM Milanovic to make sure that members of the Croatian government show more respect for Serbia. As for our respect for Croatia - they will have it. I believe it will be a clear signal that we want to build our relations so that they can become much better than they are now," said Vucic.
He underlined that Serbia needed stability more than ever before because of the economic measures his government was implementing.
"I do not want political scandals and instability to destroy what we have done so far," he said.
"Serbian authorities have already taken the necessary steps. Those who burned (the Croatian flag) did not do anything to Croatia or to themselves - they did something only to Serbia," he said, ruling out any diplomatic measures and saying that "Serbia will not send any bad signals to Croatia."
While speaking to RTS, Vucic at no moment mentioned the name of ICTY indictee and Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj.
Prosecutors in Belgrade today launched proceedings against Seselj over the incident. He said that he was glad about the news and was looking forward to the beginning of a trial.
Seselj was served today with a decision from the Hague-based tribunal ordering that he return to its detention unit. He was granted a provisional release in November 2014 on account of his bad health, and he has told reporters that he will not return to The Hague of his own accord and that Serbian authorities will have to arrest him.