Although he told journalists cabinet talks so far had not touched on the issue of the Serbian Army chief of staff position, Tadić said that, should he still be president when the next government is formed, he would insist on General Ponoš retaining that office.

“That is within my jurisdiction as the president of Serbia. However, I do not know whether it is at all possible that I will still be the president when the next government is formed,” Tadić said after the meeting.

Tadić met with members of Ponoš’s extended staff, to discuss ongoing army reforms, and offered his full support for their work. He said some sectors reported unacceptable delays, while both Ponoš and Tadić agreed the ongoing political bickering had no adverse effect on the stability of the military.

General Ponoš told journalists the first phase of the Serbian Army transformation was due to be completed by the end of 2007, while at the same time urging for the expedient passing of laws necessary for the completion of reforms.

Ponoš said that although Serbia had been accepted to NATO’s Partnership for Peace program, the country to date failed either to adopt the necessary presentation documents or to open its office in Brussels.

Both the CoS and the president agreed that the Serbian Army should continue decreasing its size and discarding surplus armaments in order to form a smaller, but more operational armed force.

Ponoš said the situation in the south of Serbia was calm and described the army’s cooperation with KFOR as very good.

Tadić restated that under the UN Resolution 1244 provisions, Serbia had no right to use its army and police to intervene in Kosovo in case of an outbreak of violence, but added that the state maintained uninterrupted communication with KFOR and UNMIK.