Serbia's President Boris Tadic says that a referendum announced by the heads of three Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo can only deepen the current crisis and cannot contribute to dialogue in search of a solution to the Kosovo issue.
Tadic told a news conference in Belgrade on Friday that the referendum, in which residents of the three municipalities would say whether they wanted Kosovo institutions or not, was unnecessary as "everybody in the world knows" that the Serbs in the north of Kosovo did not want Kosovo institutions.
The Serbian president said that the referendum, set for 14-15 February, was not in compliance with Serbia's constitution, which he said was one of the guarantees for the preservation of the country's territorial integrity.
He also warned that such a move could only trigger off international criticism and bring nothing good to the Serbs living south of the Ibar River in Kosovo.
The councils of Serb-populated municipalities -- North Mitrovica, Zvecan and Zubin Potok -- have decided to hold a referendum at which residents of those municipalities will say whether they want Kosovo institutions or not.
We want to prove by the referendum that the people who live in the north of Kosovo do not want to be a part of Kosovo institutions, North Mitrovica municipal leader Krstimir Pantic said on Wednesday evening. He went on to say that the outcome of the referendum would deny claims by international representatives and Kosovo Albanians that local Serbs wanted to be integrated into Kosovo institutions while only the leaders of northern municipalities opposed it.
