Tadić vows "not to give in to pressure"

Source: Tanjug

NOVI SAD -- President Boris Tadić said late on Tuesday that pressure on Serbia regarding Kosovo cannot be fruitful since Belgrade will not give up on its principles.

Boris Tadić (Tanjug, file)

Those are primarily its insistence on UN SC Resolution 1244, he stated.
“The pressures which someone in Europe plans to exert on Belgrade and me can only be a hindrance rather than help, and this is what I have told everybody I talked with, including President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy,” Tadić told journalists in Novi Sad.

Tadić underlined that there is no pressure which would make him give up on Resolution 1244, since it is not only the last international act which guarantees protection of human rights and lives in Kosovo-Metohija and return of refugees, but also the only document which could be the basis of future solutions.

“Resolution 1244 might yield an agreement i.e. a document which would regulate the issues that everyone are trying to resolve today, primarily north Kosovo, and which would give security guarantees to Serbs in southern municipalities and secure our monasteries, historical heritage and property,” Tadić said.

Serbia will not give up on the international document which is the only basis for protection of legitimate and basic interests of Serbs in Kosovo, the president stressed.

“We are more than a stable and reliable partner, and we have no secrets. We have clearly stated that we will not give up on UN SC Resolution 1244 as regards Kosovo's representation in regional forums,” Tadić said, adding that the question arises whether the talks with Pristina will be resumed at all, taking into account initial positions on the issue of regional representation.

Tadić said that there are many ways in which Serbia's next step in the EU accession process could be thwarted, and therefore an excessive optimism must not be spread.

“In the coming days, I will confer with European officials, and I hope that we will reach a solution, but an excessive optimism should not be encouraged as that would be rather wrong. Citizens are aware of that, but it should be made clear to the media and analysts that it would be sufficient if just one country said 'no' and other 26 'yes' for Serbia's candidate status to be denied, Tadić underlined.