Serbian President Boris Tadic stated that Serbia does not want war or violence of any kind and maintains a peaceful policy aimed at establishing long-term peace in the Balkans, and if Pristina were to carry out any violent actions, it would have to take the responsibility for the consequences.

Serbia wants EULEX and KFOR to be absolutely status neutral and prevent Pristina's violent actions in northern Kosovo because it is their duty to do so, in keeping with all UN decisions, Tadic said in an interview for the Sunday edition of the Belgrade-based daily Politika.

Tadic said that Serbia would persist in the fight for its interests before the UN and in European and global institutions, and would use all legal means to continue taking care of security and interests of its people in northern Kosovo and elsewhere.

He said that he has communicated to his European partners that by accepting the state imposed by violence, they accept ethnic cleansing of Kosovo and therefore, have to take the responsibility for it. Tadic underscored that Serbia will never agree to ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo.

We expect European institutions to contribute to the search for a peaceful solution, Tadic said and expressed expectation that the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue would continue because it is in Serbia's interest to find a mode which would enable co-existence with the minimum of security risks. He also said that he believes that Serbia's European partners would soon come to understand the country's arguments and its proposition, because this is the only approach that can ensure lasting stability and peace in the Balkans.