Serbia will not change stance on Kosovo

Serbian President Boris Tadic says in Berlin that Serbia "will not change its stance on not recognizing the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo".

(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Resolving the Kosovo issue is too important for both peoples, both Serbs and Albanians, to become a political game of setting pre-conditions for EU membership, Tadic said.

Tadic stressed that, before entering the EU, Serbia wants to resolve the Kosovo issue, but that a final decision right now would not equally uphold the interests of both sides.

"What you know and what is not debatable: Serbia will not and cannot recognize the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo," he told the gathering of several hundred people from Berlin's political, economic and cultural milieu.

He said that the problem could be solved only through reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians, and that no reconciliation was possible without talks.

"This is why Belgrade and Pristina are holding a dialogue under the auspices of the EU, and I expect the first results already in July," Tadic said.

He noted that Serbia expects the UN Security Council to approve an independent investigation into the shocking reports of organ trafficking in Kosovo.

"Serbia does not deny the atrocities that were committed against Kosovo Albanians, but there is a tendency that the crimes committed against Serbs before the eyes of the international community are being denied," noted Tadic.