Although we understand that a status quo policy is not good and sustainable, we also hold that a policy of unilateral and forcible establishment of territorial integrity and sovereignty cannot and must not be an alternative to dialogue and negotiations, reads a press release issued by the SNV on Thursday and signed by its president Milorad Pupovac.

Such policy can renew conflicts, deepen distrust and cause casualties, suffering and serious violations of human and minority rights, the SNV said adding that it opposes to messages which hint at the pursuing of such a policy and which were heard during the meeting of the prime ministers of Croatia and Kosovo, Jadranka Kosor and Hashim Thaci.

Issues such as the institutions in northern Kosovo should be resolved during a negotiating process and must not be dealt with by unilateral and forcible acts by any side and for any reason of state, the council said.

The success of that negotiating process requires gradual moves and in order to make Serb inhabitants accept the results of the negotiations it is necessary to ensure a feeling of security and minimum trust, the Croatian Serb minority's association said.

The SNV finds the mentioning of old common enemies as a basis for new friendships in the area of former Yugoslavia and in the Balkans to be a very worrisome type of policy and political acts.

It recalls that there are many serious and unsolved issues between Croatia and Serbia and inside Croatia alone and their solutions should be a priority of the Croatian government.

At the end of the press release the SNV expresses hope that this experience will serve as an occasion for directing attention to unsolved issues of Serb refugees and the status of Serbs in Croatia "who through their conduct have significantly contributed that those issues would not be used as an obstacle to the successful finalisation of Croatia's European Union accession negotiations,"