Koštunica: DS mustn't be allowed to sign SAA

DSS leader Vojislav Kostunica says that the DS coalition must not be allowed to sign the SAA. Kostunica claimed that doing so would be tantamount to signing Kosovo’s independence, and stressed that, for this reason, the forthcoming elections were important for the defense of both Serbia and Kosovo. Kostunica: DS mustn't be allowed to sign SAA "EU senior official Javier Solana has offered his help to the [League of Vojvodina Social Democrat leader Nenad] Canak-Democratic Party (DS)-G17 Plus coalition to win the election," surmised the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader in a statement forwarded to Tanjug, adding that Solana was offering the coalition the chance to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA). "We are today asking Solana publicly whether that Agreement, being an internationally binding document, respects Serbia within its internationally recognized borders with the Province of Kosovo, or if it refers only to Serbia without Kosovo, that is, to a crippled Serbia," he underlined. Kostunica said that Solana, who was the first senior official to visit Pristina after the unilateral declaration of the first NATO state, “should now inform the Canak-DS-G17 Plus coalition whether he views Kosovo as a part of Serbia, or as a NATO-supervised state." The DSS leader also recalled that the coalition gathered around the DS had prevented ratification of the energy-sector agreement with Russia on the grounds that the caretaker government did not have sufficient powers to do so, but “now that Solana is offering the SAA, which we do not know whether or not it destroys our state, the government no longer has a caretaker mandate." He said that it was yet more proof that the DS coalition could not be trusted in any way. "The important thing now is not to let the Canak-DS-G17 Plus coalition sign Kosovo’s independence. That is why this election is of the utmost importance, and that is why this indeed is an election for the defense of our country and Kosovo," concluded Kostunica. Vojislav Kostunica (Tanjug) EPP to appeal to DSS "European values" European People’s Party (EPP) President Wilfred Martens has scheduled a meeting with Vojislav Kostunica. Martens is expected to meet with the prime minister in order to try and convince him to keep Serbia on its European path. The EPP president will be in Belgrade today to try and convince Kostunica not to form a post-election coalition between his Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Serb Radical Party (SRS). He said that the EPP, made up of European center-right parties, believed that Kostunica and his DSS could stay true to European values with the goal of Serbia joining the European Union. The DSS is an associate member of the EPP, a European organization of Christian Democratic, conservative, and other similar parties. Martens stated that he had received a mandate to try and convince Kostunica of the importance of keeping the DSS working according to European values

Koštunica: DS mustn't be allowed to sign SAA

"EU senior official Javier Solana has offered his help to the [League of Vojvodina Social Democrat leader Nenad] Čanak-Democratic Party (DS)-G17 Plus coalition to win the election," surmised the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader in a statement forwarded to Tanjug, adding that Solana was offering the coalition the chance to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA).

"We are today asking Solana publicly whether that Agreement, being an internationally binding document, respects Serbia within its internationally recognized borders with the Province of Kosovo, or if it refers only to Serbia without Kosovo, that is, to a crippled Serbia," he underlined.

Koštunica said that Solana, who was the first senior official to visit Priština after the unilateral declaration of the first NATO state, “should now inform the Čanak-DS-G17 Plus coalition whether he views Kosovo as a part of Serbia, or as a NATO-supervised state."

The DSS leader also recalled that the coalition gathered around the DS had prevented ratification of the energy-sector agreement with Russia on the grounds that the caretaker government did not have sufficient powers to do so, but “now that Solana is offering the SAA, which we do not know whether or not it destroys our state, the government no longer has a caretaker mandate."

He said that it was yet more proof that the DS coalition could not be trusted in any way.

"The important thing now is not to let the Čanak-DS-G17 Plus coalition sign Kosovo’s independence. That is why this election is of the utmost importance, and that is why this indeed is an election for the defense of our country and Kosovo," concluded Koštunica.

EPP to appeal to DSS "European values"

European People’s Party (EPP) President Wilfred Martens has scheduled a meeting with Vojislav Koštunica.

Martens is expected to meet with the prime minister in order to try and convince him to keep Serbia on its European path.

The EPP president will be in Belgrade today to try and convince Koštunica not to form a post-election coalition between his Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Serb Radical Party (SRS).

He said that the EPP, made up of European center-right parties, believed that Koštunica and his DSS could stay true to European values with the goal of Serbia joining the European Union.

The DSS is an associate member of the EPP, a European organization of Christian Democratic, conservative, and other similar parties.

Martens stated that he had received a mandate to try and convince Koštunica of the importance of keeping the DSS working according to European values