Serbian president continues meetings at UNGA

NEW YORK -- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić will on Wednesday in New York have a number of meetings on the sidelines of this year's UN General Assembly session.

A view of the UNGA hall (Beta/AP)

He is due to meet with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, and Swiss President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf.

On Tuesday, Nikolić took part in the world organization's general debate. In his speech, he said that Serbia was proposing direct negotiations with Priština on the top political level, "so that all citizens of Kosovo could live better" - but noted that Serbia would "never recognize Kosovo".

Speaking to reporters in New York, he stressed that Serbia would implement all agreements reached in the EU-sponsored Kosovo dialogue, but that in the future, the process would not see the fulfillment of all ethnic Albanian wishes, while Serbia was refraining even from seeking what has been made possible by UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

While in New York, the Serbian president twice briefly met with U.S. counterpart Barack Obama, and is also due to talk with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić, who is accompanying the president, will today meet with his Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov. His other meetings scheduled for the day include foreign ministers of Macedonia, Malta, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, and Albania.