"If they offer us a paper which is a transcript of laws adopted in Pristina in the meantime, without any thinking about Serbia's rights, if it's clear from that paper that they recognise Kosovo as a state without taking Serbia into account, then it means that the EU doesn't want us after all," Nikolic said before a Serbian delegation left for Brussels.
He based his assessment on the assumption that Belgrade might be offered a draft he has seen and considers "unacceptable unless it's changed" because it refers to rights which the Serb community would have under Pristina's administration, RTS said.
Asked what would happen if that was a condition for being given a date for the start of EU accession negotiations, Nikolic said, "Serbia can't change in exchange for any gifts, any cake, any political career. Serbia must be itself."
He said Belgrade had "opened many paths" in the last year and that the state delegation was going to Brussels aware that it might be given "an ultimatum."
"Serbia never set ultimatums," he said, adding that Serbia's "red line" was to "recognise Kosovo as a territory specific in relation to other parts of Serbia" and that Belgrade was willing to accept "a lot of what Kosovo has already gained with the help of the UN and the EU."
He added that "on that territory, which we will never recognise as an independent state, there is a large Serb community" which Belgrade wanted to fully protect.
Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday the most senior officials were going to Brussels with the intention to prove state unity in dealing with the Kosovo issue, although whatever news they came back with would not be good. He added, however, that "this is the most Serbia can achieve at this moment."
After today's talks with Serbian officials, Ashton will visit Pristina this week. The last round of Belgrade-Pristina talks was held on March 4, with no agreement reached, and the next is scheduled for March 20. Visible progress in normalisation of relations is a prerequisite for further progress in European integration for both Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia expects a positive progress report from the European Commission in April, based on which it hopes to get in June a date for the start of accession negotiations.