Serbian President Boris Tadic today called on the mission of the Organization for European Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Kosovo and Metohija to remain status neutral, underscoring that Serbia is at the helm of the reconciliation process in the Western Balkans.

Tadic said at the OSCE Summit held in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana today that the OSCE had contributed to a more rapid integration of the Western Balkans in the European Union, adding that providing European future for the region is of essential importance for the strengthening of the good-neighborly relations.

"Crucial to securing the region's European future is the enhancement of good neighborly relations. The commitment by national capitals in our part of the world to engage on all outstanding issues has greatly contributed to building up the regional level of trust to an all-time high," said Tadic.

"Serbia has taken the lead in working for change. Our Government has worked tirelessly to hold individuals to account for what they did-by fully cooperating with the Hague Tribunal-and our society has taken great strides in overcoming the tragic legacy of the 1990s," said President Tadic.

"This paradigm shift prompted the Serbian National Assembly to pass a historic Declaration on Srebrenica earlier this year. The crime was condemned, apologies were made, and condolences were extended," said Tadic. "While regional cooperation has never stood on more solid ground than it does today, the overall security environment has become more complicated as a result of the unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) by the ethnic-Albanian authorities of our southern province of Kosovo and Metohija," said Tadic.

"Serbia's principled position remains unchanged. We will not recognize Kosovo's UDI, explicitly or implicitly," said President Tadic. "We continue to believe that like anywhere else in the world-and especially in the OSCE space-there can never be a sustainable solution to an issue of such magnitude and sensitivity without the consent of all stakeholders," added Tadic.

President Tadic welcomed the fact that the world has now supported by acclamation the fact that dialogue is the only road to peace in Kosovo, adding that Serbia is looking forward to opening the dialogue as soon as possible. "We reasonably expect the Pristina-based OMIK field mission to remain fully status-neutral, in accordance with Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), and to focus more on improving the lives of the non-Albanian communities in the province.

"We also expect there be no attempts to alter realities on the ground while discussions get underway. Any attempt to change these realities through the use of force would bring an immediate end to the process of dialogue," said Tadic.

Tadic also said that Serbia expects the continued pursuit of UDI recognitions to recede, adding that everyone who wanted to make their point has already made it and, obviously, there is still no settlement. "A number of OSCE participating States and EU members have refrained from recognizing UDI.

On behalf of the Republic of Serbia, allow me once again to sincerely thank these countries for their support and solidarity. I would like to appeal to them to stay the course, for I believe this will directly contribute to the success of the peace process-which, I wish to underline-fully in accordance with the spirit of Helsinki that guided us all the way to Astana," concluded Tadic.