Kostunica: Kosovo is geen handelswaar om toetreding te verspoedigen (en)

Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica has said Belgrade will not agree to Kosovo's independence even if this attitude should damage the country's EU prospects.

After the first face-to-face meeting between Serbian and Kosovo Albanian authorities on the future status of the province failed to produce any results last week, Mr Kostunica said international negotiators should not use Europe as a bargaining chip in the UN-conducted talks.

"The argument of force is quite often on the side of the others, i.e. to certain parts in the international community, who tell us to give up on Kosovo for the sake of the EU integration process," Mr Kostunica told Belgrade's daily Danas.

He pointed out that EU membership conditions did not include "territorial concessions," adding, "Therefore, Serbia cannot be asked to do anything of the kind."

Belgrade rejects the calls for independence of the break-away region which has been administered by the UN since NATO's 1999 air raids on Serbia then governed by Slobodan Milosevic.

Instead, the current prime minister supports Kosovan autonomy within Serbia which is not enough for most ethnic Albanians living in the province.

Mr Kostunica said the world's leaders have not yet considered the positive aspects of such a solution, adding that Belgrade would use all legal means to avoid Kosovo's independence.

But he disapproved of the rhetoric of Serbian Radical Party representative Tomislav Nikolic who called on Serbia to defend Kosovo with arms in an interview, according to press reports.

The next round of talks on Kosovo are scheduled for 7-8 August and are expected to deal with local reform and minority rights, Associated Press reports.

The Serbian prime minister says the Vienna meeting will hear the very same message again.

"Serbia's position will be to reiterate that Kosovo is a part of Serbia. This is not empty rhetoric, but a legal and constitutional formulation," Mr Kostunica said.