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Serbian Prime Minister to "let people decide" in coming elections

Other News Materials 30 January 2008 21:55 (UTC +04:00)

( dpa ) - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Wednesday that he would not give his support to either of the candidates in the presidential election run-off on Sunday.

"The people must decide on their own who they are going to vote for," Kostunica said at a press conference.

The candidates in the election are incumbent Boris Tadic, of the pro-Western Democratic Party (DS), and Tomislav Nikolic of the ultra- nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS).

Though Kostunica's party formed a ruling coalition with DS and other pro-Western parties, his politics are closer to those of Nikolic, especially on the hottest campaign topic - the future status of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo.

Both Kostunica and Nikolic have stated that Serbia would have to "reconsider its relations" with all countries who would recognize Kosovo as an independent state - something a majority of the European Union, along with the United States, plans on doing.

Tadic's campaign has been focused on promoting Serbia's European integration and insisting that Kosovo and EU membership are completely separate issues.

Nikolic has turned to Russia rather than Europe, which has blocked Kosovo's independence within the United Nations Security. Political analysts have stated that a victory for Nikolic could send Serbia spiralling into isolation.

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