Vojislav Kostunica called for new elections on Saturday following the collapse of his party's parliamentary coalition with President Boris Tadic's Democratic Party.
Kostunica has said that the EU must acknowledge the illegitimacy of Kosovo before Serbia enters into talks over EU membership, while Tadic believes that Serbia will isolate itself by linking membership of the EU to the emotive issue of Kosovo.
"The EU countries that recognized the false statehood of Kosovo would like Serbia to do the same. But if Serbs give the clear message at the elections that Kosovo is Serbian and that only with Kosovo [as a part of Serbia] can Serbia join the EU, this step would open a new path for talks on EU accession," Kostunica said in a statement published in Belgrade.
"In this case the new government of Serbia would have grounds to start negotiations with the EU over integration into the organization with Kosovo as an integral part of its territory," he went on.
He also denied Tadic's claims that such a condition for further integration with the EU would represent a policy of isolationism, saying that, "Serbia must respect its own sovereignty and territorial integrity in order to obtain the respect of the EU."
On Monday, Serbia's caretaker government asked the president to dissolve parliament and call a new general election. The elections are expected to be fixed for May 11, the date already scheduled for local elections across Serbia.
Kosovo's parliament declared sovereignty on February 17, and the "world's newest state" has so far been recognized by 18 of the EU's 27 member countries.
Serbian President Boris Tadic's press service has said that the president will sign a decree on Thursday for the dissolution of parliament and call new elections.
