French Ambassador in Serbia Francois Xavier Deniau stated that France strongly supports EU candidate status for Serbia, and added that the referendum in northern Kosovo should not affect the decision of the European Council.

France strongly supports Serbia's EU candidate status and calls on the country to do everything it can without delay so that the European Council could confirm its candidate status, Deniau said in an interview for the Saturday edition of the Belgrade-based daily Politika and added that this point is close at hand.

When asked how the referendum in Serbian municipalities in northern Kosovo could affect the decision on Serbia's candidate status, Deniau expressed belief that the referendum should not entail any consequences since the Serbian government is not included in the initiative, and has publicly distanced itself from it.

Deniau stated that it would be good for Belgrade and Pristina to resolve the issue of Kosovo's presentation as soon as possible and added that France does not find any mention of Resolution 1244 problematic.

There are no hard-set dates for Belgrade and Pristina to reach an agreement on Kosovo's presentation at regional forums but it should better be achieved as soon as possible because the European Council does not like solutions arriving in the nick of time, Deniau stated.

When asked whether UNSC Resolution 1244, on which Belgrade insists in the matter of Pristina's regional presentation, could pose a problem to France in any way, Deniau stated that the talks are not being led with France and that the dialogue is conducted between Belgrade and Pristina.

France considers it important for a solution to be found, the ambassador said and added that Resolution 1244 does not constitute a problem because France has decided that the resolution should be mentioned in all documents that apply to Kosovo within the EU.