Belgrade: The Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) is not forgery and it does not represent recognition of Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration, said President Boris Tadic yesterday.

The Democratic Party (DS) leader claimed that not a single part of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA, initialed by officials of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, had been subsequently altered, adding that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) confirmed the validity of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

He called on Prime Minister Kostunica to publicly state which parts of the SAA had been changed or forged, as well as how the signing of this agreement represented a betrayal of Kosovo.

Tadic denied claims that the same agreement would be offered to Kosovo for signing in three months, because this document could only be signed with internationally recognized countries.

Tadic said that regulations for implementing good neighborly relations with regional countries referred only to internationally recognized UN member states, which Kosovo was not.

He repeated that he would never accept anyone blackmailing Serbia into recognizing Kosovo in exchange for EU integration, but insisted that the two processes were separate, and that the resumption of European integration would help Serbia continue its fight to preserve Kosovo.