"Serb participation depends on election rules"

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- President Tomislav Nikolić has said that participation of Serbs in elections in Kosovo will depend on the rules based on which the voting will be held.

(Tanjug)

Nikolić made the comments as he met in Belgrade on Monday with Farid Zarif, who serves as head of the UN administration in Kosovo, UNMIK.
According to a statement from his cabinet, the Serbian president "stressed the importance and responsibility of the entire United Nations Mission in Kosovo and Metohija for the course of the electoral process, including its third pillar - the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Metohija."

Nikolić told Zarif about Serbia's stance that participation of the OSCE was needed in the organization of elections in Kosovo.

He added that Serbia was left "a short time to consider the participation of the Serb people in these elections as a result of a bad decision of the Priština administration to call early elections, rather than wait for the regular vote."

Nikolić "pointed out that he was convinced that the Serbian government will bring the most correct possible decision on whether to call on the Serb people to participate in elections," adding that this will "primarily depend on the rules by which elections will be held."

If the Serb community in Kosovo considers that accepting Kosovo documents meant recognizing Kosovo's independence, "it is not logical for Priština to insist so much on that, and at the same time claim to be well-intentioned," the president was further quoted as saying.

Nikolić added that Serbia "in the past period in the talks with the administration of Priština achieved much of what initially seemed impossible, and invested a lot of effort in that."

"Serbia will never recognize independence of the southern provinces, but is willing to talk with Priština about anything that would help improve the lives of citizens in Kosovo, regardless of their ethnic, religious or any other affiliation. So far a significant result has been achieved, but it is not sufficient, thus both sides need to make further efforts so that the negotiations are not halted," said Nikolić.

Zarif stated that the international community "recognized Serbia as a factor that is actively participating in the shaping of relations in the region with its dynamic."

According to the statement, he said that Belgrade has made "a great contribution to the normalization of relations with the institutions in Priština."

At the same time, the position of the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija is now "in many ways improved compared to the situation a few years ago," said Zarif, and added this was "in part thanks to the policy that Serbia conducted during the previous period."

Dačić meets with Zarif

Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić conferred with Special Representative of the UN secretary general and UNMIK Head Farid Zarif in Belgrade on Monday.

Ahead pf the coming regular session of the UN Security Council on Kosovo, Dačić and Zarif exchanged experiences on the work done by UNMIK from January to April, "with an emphasis on the forthcoming EULEX reconfiguration."

Dačić pointed to "the key importance of the UNMIK presence and actions in Kosovo and Metohija based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244 as the only guarantee of status neutrality of international troops in the southern Serbian province," the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.