The visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Serbia has been in preparation since February and is not related to developments in northern Kosovo, Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said.

The visit was planned before the arrest of ICTY indictees Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic and before the developments in northern Kosovo, Djelic said. He added that it is very important that Serbia gets the support of Germany, both in the context of all these events, and for its next steps on European road.

Djelic said that Merkel will be informed what Serbia has done in the field of European integration. She will be informed of everything, from the completion of cooperation with the the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, through the fulfillment of the government Action Plan for joining the European Union, to Belgrade's efforts to successfully conduct a dialogue with Pristina, Djelic said.

In this context it is known what red lines Serbia will not cross, he said. Noting that Germany often played the role of stabilizing factor in the Balkans, Djelic said that Germany has the highest interest in investing in this region.

Our goal is to have strong ties with Germany, especially in the domain of industry, Djelic said.