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Speaking with reporters in Belgrade Sunday, Tadic said EU membership was Serbia's "highest national interest" but he insisted Serbia will not recognize Kosovo's independence, the Serbian news agencyTanjug reported.

"The highest national interest is the EU membership and we will not give it up, but this does not mean that the government will agree to any blackmail", Tadic said. "If someone thinks that this pro-European government will give up on defending national interests for the sake of European perspectives, they are wrong."

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia Feb. 17 after nearly a decade under the protection of the NATO-led United Nations Kosovo force, which moved in to prevent Serbia from continuing to persecute the majority ethnic Albanian population.

U.S. President George Bush said last month the United States opposed "any partition of Kosovo."

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