Head of Serbia's negotiating team in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Borislav Stefanovic stated on Saturday that abolishment of Serbian institutions in northern Kosovo will not be a topic in the forthcoming round of talks on September 2, because the Serbian side is not prepared to discuss this issue.

Abolishment of Serbian institutions is not and will not be a topic in the dialogue, Stefanovic said in an interview for the Economist magazine and added that only the issue of northern Kosovo-Metohija can be a topic in the dialogue, as was announced earlier, and Serbia is willing to discuss this matter.

However, for the time being, this issue is not on the agenda and the moment when it would be included in the agenda depends on our agreement, Stefanovic said.

He noted that the dialogue has always had a status dimension and that limiting the talks to the technical level proved harmful, both in the past and now.

Stefanovic expressed belief that the dialogue has always had a status dimension but what is even more important is the fact that certain agreements have been reached with regard to pre-conditions for conducting the talks.

The agreements primarily envisage that both sides have a legitimate right to their own view with regard to the status issue and nobody should attempt to change that view, the official noted and added that it has also been agreed that during the course of the dialogue, neither side must aggravate the situation in the field by drawing unilateral moves.

Noting that one of the topics in the September 2 talks would refer to customs stamps, Stefanovic assessed that the issue would be resolved to the benefit of free flow of goods across the administrative line and in a way that does not anticipate the status.