Serbia's President denied alleged plans to divide Kosovo

PanARMENIAN.Net - Serbia's President Boris Tadic has denied claims that Serbia wants to divide Kosovo along ethnic lines by fomenting violence and tensions in the Serb-dominated north of the newly independent state.



"There is no secret plan to divide Kosovo," the Serbian president said Thursday night on Pink, the private TV station.



In Kosovo, a province that is mostly ethnic Albanian, Serbs clashed with UN and NATO troops in the northern, Serb-held town of Mitrovica, on Monday, and a UN policeman was killed and dozens of people were hurt. The United Nations accused Serbian officials of orchestrating the violence with the goal of trying to maintain control over Serb-populated areas of Kosovo. Tadic said that all Serbia wants is to be present in the north of Kosovo to help minority Kosovo Serbs with their everyday lives, the AP reports.



Earlier, it was reported that Serbia submitted to UN headquarters a document that says the Serbian government recognizes UN jurisdiction in Kosovo - but says only Serbs, not Kosovo Albanians, can control the police, judiciary and border customs services in parts of Kosovo where Serbs comprise the majority.