Serbian leaders agree on Kosovo strategy

Text of report by Serbian independent news agency FoNet

Belgrade, 18 May: Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, President Boris Tadic and Serbian Radical Party [SRS] deputy chairman Tomislav Nikolic met at the Serbian government seat this evening. They jointly assessed that it was necessary to find a compromise solution for Kosovo-Metohija through patient dialogue, one which had to ensure a kind of broadened autonomy.

It was assessed at the meeting that it was especially important that the international borders in the region remain unchanged in order to maintain and improve the regional stability, said a statement by the government press office.

The state policy towards solving the problems in Kosovo-Metohija was discussed at the meeting on the eve of the forthcoming UN Security Council session, which will be held in New York on 27 May, the statement said.

It was also concluded that the initiatives by President Tadic and Prime Minister Kostunica for talks to start with Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova and Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi, as representatives of Kosovo interim self-government institutions, should continue.

It was also reiterated during the meeting that the return of all displaced Serbs was a key standard which had to be realized in the forthcoming period, because it was the most elementary human right.

Source: FoNet news agency, Belgrade, in Serbian 1852 gmt 18 May 05