I hope and believe that legitimate representatives of Kosovo Albanians will be able to follow the course of action on which Rugova embarked, strongly promoting rights of the Albanian population in Kosovo and at the same time avoiding any extremism that might undermine efforts aimed at the accomplishment of their efforts, Mesic said in a statement which his office released on Saturday afternoon.
"Ibrahim Rugova will be remembered not only as a regional politician but also as an unavoidable protagonist in events which took place in the area of the former Yugoslavia in the years after its disintegration. He will be also remembered as a man on whom the international community had every reason to rely while seeking an acceptable solution to the Kosovo issue," Mesic said.
Rugova died in his residence in Pristina on Saturday. Several months ago, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
World news agencies portray him as an icon of the ethnic Albanian drive to win independence from Serbia.
He was also known for his his advocacy of nonviolent resistance to Serbian oppression. Rugova dominated Kosovo Albanian politics in the 1990s until the outbreak of armed conflict in 1998.
According to the Reuters agency, he was sidelined by a guerrilla insurgency led by the Kosovo Liberation Army, which triggered a crackdown by Serb forces. This eventually provoked NATO which carried out air strikes against the then Slobodan Milosevic regime to force Serb troops to withdraw from Kosovo.
"Rugova bounced back and in 2002 became the province's first president, albeit under the protection of the United Nations. He was elected to a second term in Dec. 2004 and redoubled his call for Kosovo to be granted independence from Serbia," Reuters said.
Rugova made his last public appearance on 23 December 2005 when he reiterated his position on plans for Kosovo's full sovereignty.
"The only thing what we have not achieved this year is Kosovo's independence, but we shall get it in 2006," the weary and visibly weakened Rugova said on that occasion.
His death came just days before the scheduled start of UN-sponsored negotiations between Kosovo and Serbian officials on the final status of this UN-administered province.
It is still not known who will succeed Rugova.
The Sorbonne-educated literature expert is survived by his widow and three children.
Rugova won many international awards and prizes for his pacifist work and promotion of tolerance, including the 1995 Peace and Freedom Award of the Danish PL-Fonden, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought which the European Parliament bestowed on him in 1998, the award for tolerance of the German city of Muenster, and the award from the committee of the New York City for his commitment to honouring the principles of democracy.