Serbian PM calls on Kosovo Serbs to vote

Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic on Saturday calld on Kosovo Serbs to vote in the upcoming local elections in order to better protect Serbs' interests, local media reported. "No one will help Serbs in Kosovo if Serbia is not strong, and it can't be strong if there is no unity, and this is why I ask you to stand together in defense of our national and state interests," said Dacic in the Gracanica municipality. The Serbian government wanted to send the message of peace, mutual respect but also to show that it cares for its citizens in Kosovo, he said. Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008, but Serbia refuses to accept Kosovo's independence. The two sides signed a landmark EU-brokered agreement in Brussels in April, as a result of which the Serbian government agreed to encourage Serbs in Kosovo and political parties to participate in the local elections. Dacic said his government is in favor of normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, noting however, that Serbia does not consider Kosovo to be a independent state, but a specially administrated territory as specified by the UN resolution 1244.