Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has stated that at the moment it is very difficult to predict whether Serbia will get the EU candidate status in March, stressing that the country is doing all in its power, but that it is not the one pulling all the strings.

“We should keep calm and continue to work. In case no positive decision is reached late in February, there will be other opportunities as well,” Jeremic said in an interview for Belgrade daily Blic.

When asked whether it is true that the EU is blackmailing Serbia over Kosovo and that Germany has the key role in the process, the head of the Serbian diplomacy said that this is an issue of a complex nature given that the European block is shaken by the largest economic crisis since its formation resulting in a lack of enlargement enthusiasm with a number of member states, Germany included.

“This is reflected in even stronger insistence on fulfillment of proscribed criteria,” Jeremic said.

Speaking about the referendum in north Kosovo, Jeremic said it is a pity that no uniform stand was reached, and that the result of voting is that north Kosovo Serbs are determined not to accept the institutions of the so-called independent state of Kosovo which is a reality in the field that cannot be ignored.

Jeremic underlined that principled stand on non-recognition of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is a precondition for preservation of territorial integrity.

“If we allow such a precedent and agree to changes of borders which have been set by the constitution, I am afraid that this would not end with Kosovo,” Jeremic said, stressing that in international relations just like in life sometimes you have to show a firm stand you will not give up on, or else pressures and blackmails will never end.

Noting that this should be done very carefully avoiding directs conflicts with great powers, Jeremic said that so far this has been done successfully, taking the example of Serbia's appointment to the OSCE chair for its 40th anniversary.

“Through its very active foreign policy in the last few years, Serbia has proved to be an independent and principled actor in the international arena,” he said.