Koštunica: Serbia rejects Kosovo’s independence

Koštunica: Serbia rejects Kosovo’s independence

Portugal took over the rotating EU presidency from Germany on July 1.

“We will not accept an amputation of 15 percent of our territory. According to our constitution, the province of Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia,” Koštunica told reporters.

Koštunica also said that Serbia is open to giving Kosovo more autonomy but it will never trade the province's independence for entry into the European Union, Reuters reported from Lisbon.

Koštunica added some EU diplomats had suggested Serbia trade Kosovo's independence for EU entry, an offer he called indecent.

"The offer is like this: if you want Europe you can forget Kosovo, if you want Kosovo you can forget Europe," Koštunica said.

"Things cannot be like that. It's an indecent offer."

"There should be no new borders in Europe. [Serbia] should be accepted as it is. That means Serbia with Kosovo within itself, with Kosovo having the greatest level of autonomy," the agency quoted the Serbian prime minister.