Serbian president rejects UN proposal on Kosovo

Boris Tadic said in a statement issued after his meeting with U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari that "I told Mr. Ahtisaari that Serbia and I, as its president, will never accept Kosovo's independence."

The statement said that, because Serbia still has no parliament after last month's elections, he would discuss the U.N. proposal further with the country's key political leaders.

The U.N. plan does not mention independence for Kosovo, but includes provisions of statehood such its own constitution, national symbols and possible membership in the international organizations.

Serbia considers Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians comprise 90 percent of the province's 2 million people, as the medieval cradle of its statehood and religion.

"I am convinced that we will find a way to continue to defend the national and state interests" over Kosovo, Tadic said.

The Serbian Foreign Ministry also rejected the plan, accusing Ahtisaari of overstepping his authority and "changing the (international) status of the Republic of Serbia."

It said in a statement that the plan "dramatically changes the current state borders of Serbia" by allowing Kosovo to apply for membership in the United Nations and other international organizations. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/