Tadic: "Serbia goes only where UN Resolution 1244 is respected"

"Serbia will take part in all regional forums where Kosovo's presence is treated in line with the UN Resolution 1244. This also applies to the regional forum in Kranj." Tadic told reporters in Novi Sad on Sunday, referring to the conference planned for later this month in Slovenia.

"Those principles are more than clear, and not subject to change. Serbia will not participate in any regional forum that has no respect for UN principles, which includes respect of Resolution 1244," Tadic said after meeting with Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom.

Serbia wants Albanian representatives and all Kosovo institutions to participate in regional forums, and it has no strategic aim to block cooperation and communication, but wants Kosovo's regional participation to be executed in a way that does not question Serbia's integrity.

"A regional forum cannot represent an implicit recognition of Kosovo's independence, because Serbia will neither implicitly nor explicitly recognize Kosovo's independence, either by its decisions or with its participation in regional forums and meetings," Tadic said.

He added that, if those principles are respected in Slovenia, Serbia will take part in the regional forum, which was also discussed at the recent meeting with Croatian and Slovenian officials.

Portugal shows full understanding for Serbia's policy on Kosovo, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said after meeting with Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado.

"This is very important for us, because we cannot back down from Kosovo, nor do we have any intention of backing down from become full-fledged European Union members," Jeremic said in Lisbon.

He said that Belgrade will continue to cooperate closely with all European partners in order to stabilize the situation in the Balkans, reach a solution of compromise for the future status of Kosovo, and increase the speed European integration of Serbia.