European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Thursday evening, after talks with Serbian President Boris Tadic, that the European Union did not plan to make Serbia recognise Kosovo and set it as a condition in its process of joining European associations, stressing however, that dialogue with Kosovo was an important element of regional cooperation in the process of stabilisation and association with the European Union.
Serbian President Tadic said that in the talks so far no such condition was made, voicing confidence this would not happen in the future either because this would not be a realistic approach in such political talks. He also said Serbia would not accept such a condition.
"We are fully aware that we must solve the conflict between Serbs and Albanians in Southeast Europe ... but we know our boundaries and we shall not cross these boundaries," Tadic said.
Speaking about the latest report by ICTY Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on Serbia's cooperation with the ICTY, which the media in Serbia described as negative, Tadic said Serbia took this report very seriously.
"We take this report as a suggestion and in that direction Serbia needs to improve its cooperation with the Hague tribunal. But allow me not to agree with the assessment that Serbia is not doing everything possible in cooperation with the Hague tribunal," Tadic said.
Barroso stressed cooperation with the ICTY was important but not essential, adding however it was an inevitable precondition.
