New Serb parliament to 'annul' EU pact: Kostunica

(BELGRADE) - Nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said Tuesday that Serbia's parliament would "annul" a pact on closer ties with the European Union after elections next month.

"The new government and the parliament of Serbia will immediately annul Tadic's illegal signature," Kostunica said in a statement, as quoted by state-run Tanjug news agency.

"We will never allow anybody to sign for the independence of Kosovo in the name of Serbia and that is why today's signature is not worth anything."

The European Union had earlier invited pro-Western Serbian President Boris Tadic to sign the Stabilisation and Association Agreement at a meeting Tuesday of its foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Tadic arrived Tuesday in Luxembourg to oversee the signing of the SAA by Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, a member of the president's pro-European Democratic Party (DS).

Serbia's year-old coalition government collapsed in March after the party of Kostunica and Tadic's Democrats clashed over ties with Brussels when most EU nations recognised Kosovo's independence.

Kostunica has sought to win over nationalist voters ahead of the resulting general elections on May 11.

His nationalist Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) has repeatedly warned that signing the accord was illegal because it went against Serbia's constitution, which declares Kosovo an integral part of the country.