According to the Montenegrin press on Wednesday, Nikolic told Montenegrin Television that he "will not recognise Kosovo, even at the cost of cessation of Serbia's integration with Europe".

He went on to say that so far nobody had raised the issue of Belgrade's recognition of Kosovo as a precondition for Serbia's progress in its integration with the European Union.

The newly-elected Serbian president also said, "I recognise Montenegro as an independent country but I don't recognise any difference between the Serbs and the Montenegrins."

He said we would like to see Serbia and Montenegro develop much better relations in the future than they have done so far because "the Serbs and the Montenegrins have much in common".

Montenegrin Parliament Speaker Ranko Krivokapic has recently refused to meet Nikolic with an explanation that he had nothing to talk about with Nikolic at the time when Nikolic was leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).

Asked in the meantime by the local press if there was any possibility for him to meet Nikolic following the latest developments, Krivokapic has said that he had nothing to talk about with Nikolic as SNS leader, but that he had much to talk about with Serbia's president.

"He (Nikolic) is no longer SNS president, and Serbia's president, elected by the will of Serbian citizens, will have my full respect," the Montenegrin official was quoted by the Vijesti daily as saying.

Immediately after his election as Serbia's president on 20 May, Nikolic formally resigned as SNS leader.