Interior Minister Ivica Dacic on Aug. 25 said to UNMIK head Lamberto Zannier that Serbia did not consider entrusting Serbian religious and cultural monuments in Kosovo to the Kosovo police a good solution.

In his talk with Zannier, who visited Belgrade on Aug. 25, Dacic said the Serbian population in Kosovo had much more confidence in the international community than the Kosovo police, the Serbian minister told reporters at the headquarters of the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit in Batajnica.

He said he told the chief of UNMIK that he believed the mission should remain status neutral and provide peace and stability in the province, while encouraging dialog.

Dacic stated that the meeting focused on the necessity of all parties to promote dialogue between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija in order to resolve all outstanding issues.

One of the topics was the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York on the Serbian resolution on Kosovo-Metohija, where Zannier will also be present, the Minister added.

He reiterated that the most important matter for Serbia is to preserve peace and stability in Kosovo-Metohija, and recalled that the Serbian police and UNMIK signed an agreement on police cooperation.

The cooperation has so far been very good, emphasised Dacic and expressed the hope that it will be so in the future, noting that the only problem is that UNMIK is continuously reducing the number of personnel in the southern province.

Dacic told the UNMIK chief Serbia's position that the decision to leave Serbian monasteries and shrines for the Kosovo Police Service to monitor is not the best solution for Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija as they have more confidence in the international community.

Serbian Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic and Zannier agreed that the role of UNMIK should be built up in northern Kosovo and in other areas with majority Serb populations.

Zannier and Bogdanovic said a dialog should be initiated as soon as possible, as the only way to solve all unresolved issues and have UNMIK play a key role, the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija announced.

Bogdanovic insisted that UNMIK should provide safety and complete freedom to all citizens of Serbia's southern province, and ensure the return of usurped property and the right of displaced persons to return.

"In the interest of permanent peace in the region, stability and prosperity for all inhabitants of the province, international missions in Kosovo and Metohija should deny support to destabilizing moves by the interim authorities in Pristina," read a written statement from Bogdanovic.

He voiced concern over the KFOR decision to turn over the protection of Serbian monasteries in Kosovo to the Kosovo police.