«We could benefit from Greece's help on many levels - support for Euroatlantic integration, a boost to our economy and infrastructure and the importing of new technology,» Tadic told an audience of politicians, businessmen and press attending the lecture, organized by the Kokkalis Foundation. «Your country is the leader in the region. You already have interests in Serbia and you have an interest in increasing your presence in Serbia,» he said.
During his speech - delivered in the Serbian language - Tadic also appealed for Greece's help in solving his country's thorny political problems - the attempt to determine the status of Kosovo, the debate on Montenegro's independence and Belgrade's relations with the international court at The Hague, which is demanding the arrest of Bosnian-Serb war criminals Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.
«We would like the support of Greece, as the capital of the Balkans, in these struggles because any developments in Serbia are not only going to affect the Serbian people but the people in all the countries of the region,» he said.
However, Tadic was somewhat less forthcoming in advising Greece on one of its own key problems in the region - the insistence of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) that it be officially recognized as «Macedonia,» which Athens says implies territorial claims to the province of Macedonia in northern Greece. «You have to solve this issue. I already have enough problems of my own,» the Serbian leader said, drawing empathetic laughter and applause from the audience.
The 48-year-old Tadic - elected as president in June 2004 shortly after succeeding assassinated Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic as leader of his country's Democratic Party - stressed that Serbia is still struggling to «shake the Milosevic legacy,» comprising a flawed system of values, corruption and organized crime. But paradoxically these problems could also be Belgrade's ticket to a better future, according to the Serbian leader. «It may sound strange, but solving our problems in Kosovo, Montenegro and Bosnia actually offers us the opportunity to show that we are developing as a European society and marks a turning point from our problematic past,» he said.
But although Tadic expressed good will on the thorniest issue currently plaguing Belgrade - talks to determine a final status for Kosovo, which is nominally a province of the Serbia-Montenegro union - he did not indicate any shift in Serbia's longstanding stance on the argument.
Kosovo problem
«I do not back independence for Kosovo as it is not a practical solution; in the long run it will lead to the destabilization of the Balkans,» he said. «A midway solution can only be found if both sides (ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs) look at the situation realistically. Everybody should be willing to give something up,» he added.
Tadic called for the implementation of a «process of democratization» in Kosovo where minority Serbs would have their own institutions but also have links to the Serbian state «in order to preserve our national heritage.» He also stressed the importance of disputes being handled in a peaceful way in a potentially volatile area, noting Belgrade's restraint when Serbian houses and monuments were destroyed in 1999 and 2000. "This attitude is the only way forward,» he said.
The Serbian leader went on to criticize the decision by authorities in Pristina to bar him from attending the funeral of Kosovo's Albanian President Ibrahim Rugova last week. «If the president of Serbia is not welcome at the funeral of the president of Kosovo, what hope is there for more widespread coexistence in this area? We must start applying a new system of values,» he said.
As regards possible independence for Serbia's partner republic of Montenegro, Tadic said he would accept it if most residents of the tiny Balkan state vote for it in a referendum (due in April). «I am in favor of retaining the union between Serbia and Montenegro... but I will be the first to respect the independence of Montenegro if over half of eligible voters back it and, if this is the case, I will work to foster Serbian-Montenegrin relations,» he said.
Finally the Serbian president pledged to meet all the requirements of the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague but stressed that the international community also has to «live up to its obligations» toward Serbia. The European Union, the USA and Russia - «the three axes of Serbia's foreign policy» - all have a role to play in helping Serbia overcome its problems and become an agent of stability in the region, he said. Belgrade needs help developing policies and technology if it is «to be useful to the EU… and to contribute to the strategic stability of the bloc,» he said. Belgrade aims to solve its political problems this year and then concentrate on pushing through the necessary reforms so that it can join the EU by 2012, Tadic said, adding, «But we need your help to achieve this.»
