Serbian MP resigns after watching porn in parliament

BELGRADE: A Serbian MP resigned on Tuesday after a video of him watching pornography during a tense parliamentary session went viral online this week, the state-run broadcaster RTS reported.

Video footage posted online showed Zvonimir Stevic watching pornographic content on his phone during a heated debate in parliament last week, where lawmakers were discussing a potential deal involving ties with the breakaway province of Kosovo.

The executive of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party lambasted Stevic for “watching a porn movie” during the session that also saw multiple parliamentarians physically clash. The 65-year-old Kosovo native is a veteran member of the Socialist Party -- a junior member in Serbia´s ruling coalition -- and was also urged to resign by his own party chief after the video went viral.

Serbia and Kosovo have come under increased pressure from Western nations to hammer out an agreement that would see the two sides normalise ties. Serbia still refuses to recognise its former Albanian-majority province´s government -- which declared independence in 2008 -- and with the backing of powerful allies like Russia and China has prevented the territory from entering an array of international institutions, including the UN.