Tadic: Serbia will never, under any circumstances, implicitly or explicitly, recognize Kosovo

The Serbian president said that Serbia will "never, under any circumstances, implicitly or explicitly, recognize the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo (UDI), and that the Serbian people are united on this fundamental point".

"We see UDI as having been yet another failed attempt to impose a one-sided outcome. That is why it is unsustainable. There is no legitimate alternative to reaching a negotiated, compromise solution for Kosovo," Tadic said assessing that a new opportunity for negotiations will arise once the International Court of Justice has presented its advisory opinion on the UDI legality to the UN General Assembly.

"We believe dialogue is the only way to guarantee the long-term stability of our region," the Serbian president said, and concluded that the Serbia of the 21st century is a country which seeks peace, stability, economic prosperity, social justice, regional cooperation, and good-neighborly relations.

Boris Tadic cautioned in Istanbul on Wednesday that the Serb holy sites in Kosovo are at risk, and pointed to the attempts of the Kosovo Albanian authority in Pristina to artificially separate a foundational part of Serb patrimony and politicize it.

"All four of our World Heritage-designated sites that are located in our province of Kosovo have been placed on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger, where they must unfortunately remain," Tadic said while addressing the participants of the Forum of the Heads of Southeast European Countries on Cultural Corridors.

The Forum is held under the auspices of UNESCO in scope of the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP).

Tadic also pointed out that Serbia greatly appreciates UNESCO's strict status-neutrality, and the Organization's sensitivity in this fundamental area of our cooperation.

He underlined that UNESCO-and Council of Europe-sponsored programs such as this one have stood fast throughout this decade of accomplishment and through setbacks, such as the unilateral declaration of independence by the ethnic-Albanian authorities of Serbia's southern province of Kosovo, and their attempt to artificially separate a foundational part of Serbian patrimony, by politicizing cultural heritage or destroying it whole-scale.

"These bridges have held even though some in Pristina have tried to use Serbian patrimony in Kosovo as pawns in a dangerous game of identity creation," Tadic said.