The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Belgrade

Serbian President Boris Tadic on Thursday dissolved parliament and called elections for May 11, following the collapse of the ruling coalition in a policy rift over EU integration and Kosovo. "The elections are a democratic way for citizens to say how Serbia should develop in years to come," Tadic said in a statement. The dissolution of parliament was requested by nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's government, which said it was unable to overcome differences over Serbia's integration in the European Union and Kosovo independence. "In accordance with the constitution of Serbiat I signed the decree on dissolution of the parliamentt and the decision to call the elections for May 11," Tadic said. Last weekend Kostunica announced that his Democratic Party of Serbia had failed to solve the dispute with its pro-European coalition partners from Tadic's Democratic Party. The rift came less than a month after ethnic Albanian majority Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia, which considers the territory a cradle of its history and culture.