Tadić to continue state policy on Kosovo

Boris Tadic says he will continue pursuing the state policy on Kosovo as long as the existing resolutions are in force. The president said that Serbia faced other challenges over that issue. Tadic to continue state policy on Kosovo Speaking about UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s plans to restructure UNMIK, the president told tomorrow’s issue of weekly Vreme that Serbia had to do everything in its power for this to be carried out in line with a Security Council resolution, and for her voice to be “heard and respected”. He stressed that the upcoming UN General Assembly session would be of vital importance to Serbia which, he said, had to defend its national integrity while being mindful of not hampering her own path to Europe, as well as maintaining the necessary level of cooperation with her strategic partner, Russia. Tadic said that he would make sure Serbia’s policy on Kosovo did not become “rigid“, and that “practical solutions“ were found for it, while at the same time respecting civilian and state reasons. The president said that the Foreign Ministry would take the final decision on when ambassadors would return to those countries that had recognized Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration. “Whatever happens, I’ll respect the Foreign Ministry’s proposal as far as that matter’s concerned,“ he said. On the subject of the Kosovo Serb assembly in Kosovska Mitrovica, Tadic said that turnout at the last elections in the province had hit record levels, so that, in his opinion, there was no doubting the institution’s legitimacy. “So its legitimacy is unquestionable, the problem lies in its legality, the fact that that body is not in line with the law,“ the president explained, adding that this needed to be remedied. “I simply cannot oppose the idea of the citizens of my country having their own legitimate representatives. They cannot pursue a policy separate to that of the state, but they can defend the interests of the people that voted for them,” he underlined. Speaking of NATO, Tadic said that there was still room for cooperation and developing relations with the Alliance, and that this would soon appear on both the parliamentary and government agendas. “My view is that we need to adopt a new agreement that will add a new dimension to our relations with NATO,“ said the president. He underlined Serbia’s priority was membership of the EU, not NATO. “It’s important that EU membership is not dependent on NATO membership, as was the case with certain other countries. The citizens will take the final decision on this at a referendum,“ Tadic concluded. Boris Tadic (FoNet, archive)

Tadić to continue state policy on Kosovo

Speaking about UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s plans to restructure UNMIK, the president told tomorrow’s issue of weekly Vreme that Serbia had to do everything in its power for this to be carried out in line with a Security Council resolution, and for her voice to be “heard and respected”.

He stressed that the upcoming UN General Assembly session would be of vital importance to Serbia which, he said, had to defend its national integrity while being mindful of not hampering her own path to Europe, as well as maintaining the necessary level of cooperation with her strategic partner, Russia.

Tadić said that he would make sure Serbia’s policy on Kosovo did not become “rigid“, and that “practical solutions“ were found for it, while at the same time respecting civilian and state reasons.

The president said that the Foreign Ministry would take the final decision on when ambassadors would return to those countries that had recognized Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration.

“Whatever happens, I’ll respect the Foreign Ministry’s proposal as far as that matter’s concerned,“ he said.

On the subject of the Kosovo Serb assembly in Kosovska Mitrovica, Tadić said that turnout at the last elections in the province had hit record levels, so that, in his opinion, there was no doubting the institution’s legitimacy.

“So its legitimacy is unquestionable, the problem lies in its legality, the fact that that body is not in line with the law,“ the president explained, adding that this needed to be remedied.

“I simply cannot oppose the idea of the citizens of my country having their own legitimate representatives. They cannot pursue a policy separate to that of the state, but they can defend the interests of the people that voted for them,” he underlined.

Speaking of NATO, Tadić said that there was still room for cooperation and developing relations with the Alliance, and that this would soon appear on both the parliamentary and government agendas.

“My view is that we need to adopt a new agreement that will add a new dimension to our relations with NATO,“ said the president.

He underlined Serbia’s priority was membership of the EU, not NATO.

“It’s important that EU membership is not dependent on NATO membership, as was the case with certain other countries. The citizens will take the final decision on this at a referendum,“ Tadić concluded.