Koštunica: SAA analysis no obstacle

DSS leader Vojislav Kostunica does not believe the legal analysis of the SAA is an obstacle to forming a governing coalition with the SPS. Nonetheless, he called on the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) to make its views clear on the matter. Kostunica: SAA analysis no obstacle "Obeying the law cannot be an obstacle to anyone,” Kostunica told a press conference, adding that for this reason, he did not expect that document to be an obstacle to post-election negotiations. Asked to comment on the statement of United Serbia (JS) leader Dragan Markovic that the coalition gathered around the SPS should stop negotiations on forming a new government with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and Serb Radical Party (SRS), Kostunica said that the person whose response he was waiting for was that of the coalition’s leader—Ivica Dacic. "This analysis will simplify things and enable the coalition gathered around the SPS to make its mind up,” the incumbent prime minister said. According to Kostunica, the analysis of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) had not been carried out because of the elections or the formation of a government, but to determine its true meaning and, accordingly, make the political moves that were in Serbia’s best interests. "This analysis has a wider significance for us. It wasn’t conducted because of the government negotiations. Even without these negotiations, and without a future government being at stake, the DSS would still have made this analysis public” he stressed. Kostunica's coalition partner New Serbia (NS) leader Velimir Ilic believes government talks will continue between the SRS, the DSS-NS and the coalition gathered around the SPS. Ilic dismissed Markovic’s comments that talks were finished as far as he was concerned with the SRS and the DSS-NS, asking “what kind of influence does someone with three seats have.” “If someone with only three MPs can influence negotiations, then that’s a bad sign…I don’t believe it,” he said. The NS leader, speaking during a break in an international conference for traffic security, said that there were no problems or differences of opinion between him and DSS leader Vojislav Kostunica, stating that several media outlets were conducting a very dirty campaign. Ilic said that certain people were wanting to return Serbia to the 1990s with these dirty campaigns, adding that the current situation was even worse now than it was back then. He added that he had “received invitations from Democratic Party people” on about a dozen occasions to set up a meeting with DS leader Boris Tadic, but that he had turned them down. The NS leader did not want to say who had called him from the DS, but said that he “will talk about it one day,” adding that he would also talk about the dirty campaign that he believes is being led against the DSS-NS coalition. Vojislav Kostunica, Velimir Ilic (FoNet, archive)

Koštunica: SAA analysis no obstacle

"Obeying the law cannot be an obstacle to anyone,” Koštunica told a press conference, adding that for this reason, he did not expect that document to be an obstacle to post-election negotiations.

Asked to comment on the statement of United Serbia (JS) leader Dragan Marković that the coalition gathered around the SPS should stop negotiations on forming a new government with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and Serb Radical Party (SRS), Koštunica said that the person whose response he was waiting for was that of the coalition’s leader—Ivica Dačić.

"This analysis will simplify things and enable the coalition gathered around the SPS to make its mind up,” the incumbent prime minister said.

According to Koštunica, the analysis of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) had not been carried out because of the elections or the formation of a government, but to determine its true meaning and, accordingly, make the political moves that were in Serbia’s best interests.

"This analysis has a wider significance for us. It wasn’t conducted because of the government negotiations. Even without these negotiations, and without a future government being at stake, the DSS would still have made this analysis public” he stressed.

Koštunica's coalition partner New Serbia (NS) leader Velimir Ilić believes government talks will continue between the SRS, the DSS-NS and the coalition gathered around the SPS.

Ilić dismissed Marković’s comments that talks were finished as far as he was concerned with the SRS and the DSS-NS, asking “what kind of influence does someone with three seats have.”

“If someone with only three MPs can influence negotiations, then that’s a bad sign…I don’t believe it,” he said.

The NS leader, speaking during a break in an international conference for traffic security, said that there were no problems or differences of opinion between him and DSS leader Vojislav Koštunica, stating that several media outlets were conducting a very dirty campaign.

Ilić said that certain people were wanting to return Serbia to the 1990s with these dirty campaigns, adding that the current situation was even worse now than it was back then.

He added that he had “received invitations from Democratic Party people” on about a dozen occasions to set up a meeting with DS leader Boris Tadić, but that he had turned them down.

The NS leader did not want to say who had called him from the DS, but said that he “will talk about it one day,” adding that he would also talk about the dirty campaign that he believes is being led against the DSS-NS coalition.