Serbia Pins Kosovo Hopes On Court, President Says

Tuesday is the first anniversary of Kosovo`s declaration of independence - a declaration bitterly opposed by Serbia.

Serbia is pinning its hopes for better relations with Kosovo on an international court ruling, but will never recognise Kosovo's independence, Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Monday.

Tuesday is the first anniversary of Kosovo's declaration of independence -- a declaration bitterly opposed by Serbia, which sees the region as the cradle of its religious and national identity.

Serbia last year asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to rule on the legality of Kosovo's secession. But a ruling could take years, and would not be binding.

"The only way for us to enter talks about the future status of Kosovo and a compromise solution is the court's ruling," Tadic told Reuters in an interview.

Recourse to the court implies Serbia would accept its ruling, however it turned out. But Tadic nevertheless restated a position that remains a political imperative in Serbia:

"Serbia will never take a single action that implies Kosovo's independence," he said.

Kosovo is patrolled by NATO peacekeepers and administered by EU and United Nations missions, 10 years after its conflict between Serbs and Albanians ended in 1999, when NATO bombing forced Serbian troops to end a crackdown on Albanians.

More than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians have fled Kosovo since, fearing reprisal attacks by their Albanian neighbours. Most are still in Serbia.

"Serbia wants to see the return of normal life in Kosovo," Tadic said. "The protection of human and minority rights there is below an acceptable level and we haven't seen many (Serb) returnees."

The United States, 22 of 27 EU members and a number of other countries have recognised Kosovo as an independent state but others, including U.N. Security Council members Russia and China, have not.

Tadic said Serbia would not block Kosovo's accession to international financial agencies on condition the territory was represented there by the U.N. Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recognised Kosovo's independence last year and said it would consider its membership "in due course". Kosovo has also applied for membership of the World Bank.

Tadic, a pro-Western politician, said Serbia would not hasten the submission of its candidacy to the European Union, reflecting a new approach after EU officials told Belgrade not to rush its application.

"I am a practical man ... full EU membership is more important than formal application," he said.

The Netherlands is opposing the unfreezing of an EU trade deal with Serbia until it arrests and hands over former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, which wants him on genocide charges.

"We don't know where he (Mladic) is now. Serbia will boost operations of its law enforcement agencies and use its economic resources to arrest Mladic," Tadic said.