Pristina: The Kosovo president, Fatmir Sejdiu said yesterday that the time when Kosovo was a Serbian election base had passed for once and for all, and Belgrade authorities should realize this.

Addressing the deputies in the Kosovo assembly, Sejdiu said, “Kosovo is an independent and sovereign, internationally recognized state. According to the dual citizenship principle, Kosovo Serbs who want to be Serbian citizens as well can vote for Serbian authorities.” He said, “Kosovo is our common state, of all of us without any differences,” addressing Kosovo residents of Serb nationality.

The Kosovo president said, “We call on Kosovo citizens to be official actors in the institutional life of Kosovo. A number of our citizens have awaited Kosovo independence with anxiety, as part of the systematic indoctrination, influence and pressure coming from Serbia, from its political and religious elite. The last two months have proven that such anxiety is not justified. In Kosovo, there is room for all its citizens.”

Submitting his annual report on the activities and coming tasks of the presidential institutions in Kosovo, the Kosovo president stated that the time one nation dominated over another had passed, because there is “freedom for everybody in Kosovo.”

He also stated that in addition to his cabinet a Consultation Council for Communities would be created that would be under his control. Sejdiu said, “I plan to quickly prepare the organizational core of that Council, which will start to function at full capacity once the Kosovo Constitution has come into force.”

He stated that Kosovo independence was the political expression of the Kosovo citizens’ will. He said that Kosovo independence had been declared after a long international process of status determination, according to the political will of the majority of Kosovo citizens and the recommendations of the international negotiator for Kosovo’s status, Marti Ahtisaari.

Sejdiu said, “Kosovo independence was declared in coordination with our international friends and Kosovo allies, primarily the EU and the U.S. The Republic of Kosovo is widely accepted by the democratic world. 37 countries have accepted its independence, including seven of the eight G8 countries. Our country expects recognition from a lot more countries round the world. To be accepted by EU and NATO, we need to be recognized by all the members of those institutions and fulfill all the necessary conditions. That will take time, but our goal is of vital importance.”

He claimed that Kosovo was interested in good relations with all countries, “especially with its neighbors” – Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Serbia. “The natural richness and our young population are the potentials for long-lasting development. That is only possibly when we have a sovereign and not just provisional government,” he said.