"It would be a matter of basic courtesy for the Serbian president to go to Kosovo, which is part of Serbia's territorial integrity, and pay his respects to the political representative of the Albanian people," Tadic told Beta news agency.
He added that by going to Rugova's funeral he wanted to show that Serbia was ready to face political projects of those who had different opinion in a European manner.
Apart from Tadic, Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic, Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic and Vojvodina parliament speaker Bojan Kostres sent letters to the aithorities in Pristina extending condolences on Rugova's death
Kosovo president and pacifist icon Ibrahim Rugova will be buried this week alongside fallen guerrillas of the 1998-99 war.
Rugova was the architect of a decade of passive resistance from the moment former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic stripped Kosovo of its autonomy in 1989.
The funeral will take place on Thursday.