Nikolić and Tadić meet at presidency in Belgrade

Source: Beta, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Former Serbian President Boris Tadić and Tomislav Nikolić, the country's newly-elected leader, met on Monday at the presidential building in Belgrade.

(Tanjug)

They were set to "discuss the transfer of duties", Tanjug news agency reported earlier in the day.
Nikolić arrived to the presidency on foot, walking through a nearby park, accompanied by SNS party leader Aleksandar Vučić.

Boris Tadić arrived in his official car, and entered the building through one of its side entrances.

Nikolić walked in through the main entrance.

Tadić and Nikolić addressed the public on Monday to say that they agreed that all institutions in Serbia should be formed as soon as possible so they could start solving the country's problems.

They stressed what they said was their joint goal - a better life for the people, solutions to economic and other issues, EU integration, a consensus on Kosovo and battle against corruption and crime.

Tadić, who held a joint news conference with Nikolić after their meeting, said the two had agreed institutions should be formed as soon as possible in order to avoid an institutional vacuum.

The meeting was not just about the transfer of authority, but also about how institutions should function in the future, Tadić underscored.

"We talked about how important it is to avoid an institutional vacuum, transfer the authority as smoothly as possible and form institutions on all levels, local, national and presidential," Tadić explained.

It takes time to conduct the technical negotiations on forming the government and get parties to back that government, Tadić emphasized, adding that synergy on all levels was necessary, regardless of which parties formed the government.

According to Tadić, the meeting with Nikolić was another good discussion between them two recently, and definitely not the last one.

The country's political stability can be viewed with a lot more optimism now, because there will be no more conflicts about what should be done between those who run the country, Nikolić remarked.

"President Tadić and I discussed about Serbia's future," Nikolić said, adding that they discussed future cooperation regardless of who forms the government.

Nikolić said the change of presidents had been the first democratic transfer of power, as Tadić was not replaced by a leader of another political party, since he had resigned as the SNS president.

Nikolić pledged to give the mandate to form the government to anybody as soon as they managed to secure the parliamentary majority.

He said that Serbia needed economic prosperity and that the fight against crime should be successful.

Nikolić said that Tadića and he had agreed to commit fully to the talks in order to reach a consensus on the Kosovo-Metohija issue, since, he said, it was not only a matter concerning only the head of state or the prime minister, but rather "all the citizens who placed their trust in us."

He thanked Tadić for being open to cooperation and for showing awareness about the clock ticking out and about the need for government to be formed as soon as possible.

Nikolić said that he, for his part, and the government for their part, would involve all their friends from across the world to help ensure economic progress and success in the fight against crime in the country and make citizens have no fear about those to be elected into power in the future being bad.

"There are no more bad guys in Serbia, as the country will from now only be led by those who are better than their predecessors," Nikolić said, adding that he hopes he will take his oath by the end of the week.

Boris Tadić - who was a week ago defeated in the presidential runoff - on Sunday accepted his party's nomination to become Serbia's next prime minister.

Also on Monday, top officials of Tadić's Democratic Party (DS) and the Socialist Party of Serbia-the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia-United Serbia (SPS-PUPS-JS) coalition are set to meet to discuss forming a government together.

SPS leader Ivica Dačić did not give the time and place of the meeting with Tadić, which is to focus on the formation of a parliamentary majority, but underlined that the public "will be notified in a timely manner".