Serbian President Boris Tadic will not take part in the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, taking place June 2 in Rome, because the hosts have invited Kosovo's President Atifete Jahjaga, Tadic told Italian news agency ANSA.

At the same time, Tadic confirmed that his decision will not affect the Italian-Serbian summit set to take place in Belgrade in late June.

"I am deeply disappointed that I will not be able to attend the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy on June 2, because the president of the so-called state of Kosovo has been invited to the event," Tadic said in an interview for ANSA.

"I have to and want to defend Serbia's legitimate interests, but Italian institutions obviously placed more importance on the attendance of Kosovo's representatives," pointed out the Serbian president.

Tadic noted that moves like this do not contribute to better bilateral relations, but also underlined he will still strive to further Italian-Serbian relations as much as possible.

Tadic said that Italy has an exceptional reputation in Serbia, because the cultures of the two countries are very close and the Serbian people have positive feelings towards Italy.

The Serbian president also stressed it would be irrational if his absence from the Rome celebrations affected the summit due to take place in Belgrade toward the end of June.

We have many important and concrete things to talk about, Tadic said, such as the construction of Corridor 11 and a possible partnership with Italy on the construction of a metro system in Belgrade.

"Italy is interested in investing in Serbia's energy sector. I am also convinced that Italian investors such as Benetton will move their activities to Serbia, where there is readiness to work and infrastructure that the country has invested a lot in," Tadic said.

On Tuesday, Tadic will attend the signing of a contract on the sale of real estate between the Niteks textile company and Benetton in Nis, and meet with the group's president Luciano Benetton.