Nikolic: Top officials firm on Resolution on Kosovo

Serbia's top officials are united in their defence of the Resolution, the Belgrade-based daily Novosti posted on its website late on Friday, quoting Nikolic's interview for the Saturday edition of the daily. Commenting on media speculations that the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina was reached secretly and that according to it, Serbia practically renounced the core of the Resolution on Kosovo, the Serbian president said that there is absolute unity as to the government's firm stand concerning the Resolution. Nikolic said that Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and himself achieved absolute agreement that they will not renounce any part of the Resolution on Kosovo which the National Assembly adopted. “Rest assured that there is a strong agreement on this matter and that there are no weak links in the government concerning this,” Nikolic said. Instability for KiM Serbs if Belgrade pulls out Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic said late Friday that if Belgrade pulls out of the talks on Kosovo and if it is left to Pristina to administer Kosovo together with the EU and without Belgrade's consent, the situation will become very unstable and Belgrade will be able to do very little for the Kosovo Serbs. Speaking about Belgrade's proposal concerning powers to be enjoyed by an association of Serb municipalities in Kosovo, Nikolic told TV Most, a broadcaster based in the town of Zvecan, northern Kosovo, that the association should be entitled to enact statutes, regulations, decisions, resolutions and regulations based on laws passed by the Kosovo parliament. The Serbian president said that the Serb community should have a number of representatives in the Kosovo parliament and any proposed legislation relating to the Serb community should require a majority vote from the community. "If no majority is formed by members of the Serb community to vote in favor of something that relates to the Serb community, that something cannot be passed," Nikolic said. "All these are protections guranteed to minority communities and the same protections are guaranteed to the Kosovo Serbs since Pristina will be setting the rules in Kosovo," he said. Nikolic said that Serbia can help the Kosovo Serbs a lot right now, adding that it is bound by law to help Serb communities in every area where they lack resources and experts. "I wish to avoid someone blaming us of being hostages to the Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija or the Serbs in Kosovo accusing us of betraying them. I therefore wish to have the issues completely settled, leaving no room for ambiguity," Nikolic said.