Russia Today 28 May, 2012

President-elect Tomislav Nikolic, who is looking for more intensive relations with Russia, has promised that Serbia will never become a member of NATO.

­Nikolic, who met Putin in the Russian president’s first meeting with a foreign leader since being elected, stated that Serbia is “on the road” to the European Union, admitting that it will be “a long road, and we will base our relations on the rules of international law.”

He added that he wasn’t sure if Serbia would be admitted into the EU unless “we recognize the independence of Kosovo and Metohija.”

Many Serbs are ambivalent, if not outright hostile to the idea of restoring full relations with the European Union, not to mention the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 1999 Belgrade was on the receiving end of a massive 78-day bombing campaign by the alliance (March 24 – June 10) aimed at removing Yugoslav forces from Kosovo.

"Our constitution forbids us to abandon Kosovo and Metohija," Nikolic said. Meanwhile, Russia is ready to allocate the second loan tranche of $800 million to Serbia, Putin assured his Serbian guest.

The Russian leader said that for the loan to be granted there should be concrete technical proposals to rebuild Serbia’s aging infrastructure.

Earlier, Russia already provided a $200 million loan to Serbia in an effort to consolidate the country's budget.

Moscow's total investment in Serbia stands at $1.4 billion, Putin recalled.

As for the next tranche, the president-elect should lend impetus to government structures in order to ensure that they expedite the preparation of technical proposals, Putin said.

Putin also wished Nikolic success in implementing all his campaign promises.

"These tasks are plenty and difficult," he said.

The Russian leader mentioned that cooperation between the two countries will help deal with the various complicated problems. Putin also referred to Serbia as Russia’s “spiritual brother.”

“While Russia sees Serbia as a reliable partner in the Balkans, we are also spiritual brothers,” he said. "This is how it was, and this is how it will be."

At the end of the meeting Putin made "an unusual request" to Nikolic: "I would like to say that we have worked with your political opponent, previous president Boris Tadic, as partners for a number of years, and I am asking you to pass along our words of gratitude for the joint work," Putin said.

The Russian president invited the Serbian president-elect to visit Russia following his inauguration "at any time that is convenient for you."