Serbia is against Kosovo’s accession in UN

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić addressed the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday to say that Serbia has neither de jure nor de facto “recognized Kosovo.”

The EU-mediated agreement reached with Priština in April “in no way means that Belgrade intends to accept Kosovo’s accession to the UN and other international organization,” he added.

Nikolić at the same time said that Serbia wished to, with the reached agreements, protect the Serb community in Kosovo and ensure normal life for all residents of Kosovo.

Nikolić addressed the participants of the General Debate of the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly by saying that Serbia looked towards the future and EU membership.

But, he noted, Serbia expected the accession talks with the EU to start no later than January 2014, adding that he “hoped the talks would not take too long or go on forever.”

The Serbian president said that the country was “turning toward the future” and wished to build good relations with all its neighbors, and cooperate with them “with the goal of improving the living standard in all regional countries.”

Through the Brussels agreement, he said, Serbia showed that “t wishes to protect the Serb community in Kosovo “as much as is within its power, but also to secure a normal everyday life for all residents in the province.”

Nikolić said that Belgrade “neither de jure nor de facto” recognized Kosovo as independent, and pointed out that the agreement concerned “only the clearly marked questions such as the holding of local elections and the forming of the Community of Serb Municipalities.”

According to him, “Serbia will fully implement the agreement – but that in no way means that Serbia intends to accept Kosovo’s membership in the UN and other international organizations, initiatives and forums, that can be joined only by sovereign states.”