Serbian president Boris Tadic thanked authorities in Bucharest for not recognizing the independence of the Kosovo province, claiming that "Romania was and will remain a traditional friend for Serbia". Tadic insisted that Serbia will not chose an isolationist policy and will not appeal to force to prevent the Kosovo independence from coming into force, mainly because Belgrade still wishes to become part of the European Union. On His turn, Romania president Basescu advised Belgrade authorities to avoid self-isolation and to discuss with the authorities in Pristina.

"It is not an accident - being in Bucharest today, in a moment when Serbia confronts one of its history's most important challenges - the Kosovo problem. Romania is a traditional friend of Serbia, it was, it is and it will be", said Tadic in the beginning of his speech.

"I am grateful to Romania for its position in recognizing the Kosovo independence, for not recognizing the newly formed state, and even more for Romania is a member of the European Union and most countries in the Union recognized it", said Tadic.

According to Tadic, Serbia will never recognize the Kosovo independence and will reduce its cooperation with the states that did. Still, Belgrade will not chose a self-isolation policy, not will it give up its future as a EU state. The Serbian president emphasized the importance Serbia has in the Balkans stability and once again underlined that force will not be used to solve the conflict situation.

Still, Boris Tadic considers that none of the existing institutions may recognize an illegal state, therefore Serbia will not recognize the civilian EU mission in Kosovo.

The Serbian president also underlined that the mutual relations between Romania and Serbia are very good, insisting on the Danube collaboration and the 4th European corridor, where Serbia "has a major interest" (the highway connecting Turkey to Western Europe, through East European countries).

On his turn, Romanian president Basescu declared that an important issue is for Serbia to avoid self-isolation, a move that would only bring losses. "The European Union is interested in having Belgrade advancing in its accession process", said Basescu, adding that the vote Serbians offered Tadic is a prove. Basescu insisted that "Romania will not abandon its alliances..

Still, Basescu wanted to clarify some aspects of the problem. "The newspaper wrote that the European Union decided to recognize Kosovo. The European Union is a democratic political and economic structure, and the European Council allowed each member state to act according to its national interest and according to the way it understands the international law", said Basescu. "Therefore, some countries recognized the Kosovo independence, while some did not".

Tadic will also meet today Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu and the speaker in the House of Deputies, Bogdan Olteanu.