Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic met with Serbs from northern Kosovo to discuss the implementation of the agreement reached in Brussels recently but the talks fell through as the Kosovo Serbs demand that before a referendum is held on the matter, the Constitutional Court gives its opinion of the agreement.

Dacic responded to the demands stating that Belgrade simply did not have the time for this matter to be pondered on for months and that the agreement had to be implemented.

He added that he considered there was no point in holding a referendum as Kosovo Serbs would obviously not accept the results and any long-term debate over the matter would put the country in a difficult position in which it would not be able to implement the Brussels agreement.

"The government will not change its course. We will continue to lead this country in the right direction", Dacic told the press, stressing that the agreement must be applied and that the "government had the mechanisms to do so but that it would not impose them but hoped for agreement".

"If we do away with salaries and jobs, there won't be any parallel institutions (in northern Kosovo). But we won't do this because we want to come to an agreement with Kosovo Serbs. If we miss this opportunity for a political agreement now we won't have anything more to talk about", he said, adding that this was "no longer a matter of citizens' interest but a political campaign and that the government would have no part in it".

He added that he was convinced the government enjoyed the support of the majority. He recalled that the government and Serbian Assembly had endorsed the agreement and that now the only way to change it would be by referendum.

Vucic had earlier said that a referendum could be an option but only if Kosovo Serbs obliged to adhere to the policies of the government in Belgrade after that.

Kosovo Serbs consider that a referendum would be the best option but priority should first be given to the Constitutional Court to examine the agreement.

"The agreement is unacceptable and it threatens the vital interest of Serbs and the plan to implement it is even worse and the intentions behind it are not good", said a representative of the Serbian National Council of Northern Kosovo, Milan Ivanovic.

Belgrade had said earlier that the issue of the referendum should be resolved within a fortnight of reaching agreement with Kosovo Serbs but that has now fallen through.

The next meeting was scheduled for May 7.