‘Serbia has to respect everything that is in line with the Constitution and international documents, the UN SC Resolution 1244 in the first place. Requests and explicit pressures have not given good results in any and especially in this so delicate political situation. That is why it is important that Serbia maintains dynamics it has outlined in achieving its goals’, Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, Serbia Parliament Speaker and also Vice President of the Socialist Party of Serbia says in her interview with the ‘Blic’.

Q: Is it necessary that Kosovo independence is recognized? What is actually the truth?

‘The truth is that Serbia shall not recognize unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo. I would remind you that two thirds of the UN members including five countries that are the EU members have not recognized Kosovo. European officials when talking to us request that we recognize Kosovo implicit. When we say that publicly, they deny to have made such request’.

Q: Having that in mind can we hope at all that Serbia is given the candidate status next year?

‘In recent years Serbia has very much approached Europe thanks to its reforms and activities. It seems to us that Europe was not dealing with Serbia as our citizens expected and that is why the citizens are a bit disappointed. However we have two goals. They are dialog with Pristina and further standardization for joining the EU’.

Q: What is the purpose of remaining on European path if, as things are now, Serbia cannot make any further progress?

‘Our European path is not disputable, I think we are determined to respect even more intensively European values and do everything necessary to reform our country further. In dialog with Pristina we want to give our contribution to better quality of life of people living in Kosovo’.

Q: In the forthcoming elections the SPS shall compete in mutual list with the United Serbia. How long are you going to wait for the PUPS to decide whether to accept your offer or not?

‘The SPS-PUPS-JS coalition has justified its existence. We spoke on several occasions about our wish and intention to continue that cooperation. The PUPS has authorized its President Jovan Krkobabic to negotiate. They shall make their decision and we would like to compete with mutual election list’.

Q: Who would you enter a coalition with after elections? Is there an unacceptable partner for the SPS on the political scene of Serbia?

‘Election will by the voters is decisive factor that shall determine setting up of post-election coalitions. The SPS position shall be in the best interest of the citizens of Serbia. It seems to us that there shall be no future government without the SPS and the most acceptable partner for our coalition is the DS’.

Q: If the coalition around the SPS happens to be again the decisive factor in setting up of new power, what party can count on your support?

‘I would say that our coalition with the DS, for many unthinkable, justified its existence. I think that the social-democratic option is only natural for the time we live at’.

Q: Is the SPS going to request the Prime Minister post in that coalition?

‘There is no dilemma for us that there is no state or political function that Ivica Dacic would fail to be the best at’.

Blic (Marija Maleš)  Foto: E. Conkic