"I will do all in my power to secure a European future for Serbia," Tadić said. "That would secure progress and prevent the longtime stagnation of Serbia in comparison to other countries in the region."

"We must not isolate ourselves from the European Union, the West and Russia. We should conduct our policies relying on those three foreign policy pillars," he added.

To speed up its pro-Western reforms and work to improve living standards for its citizens, Serbia must arrest the remaining war crimes suspects sought by the Hague Tribunal, including former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladić, Tadić told the agency.

"We must move faster toward the EU. We must remove the obstacles," Tadić said. "There should be no compromise about that."

"Serbia will never agree to independence for Kosovo," Tadić told the agency speaking about the southern Serbian province. "We will not give up any right that is granted to any other country in the world."

"The Ahtisaari plan is not the Holy Bible," he said. "Serbia is open for a compromise ... but we are not ready to give up part of our integrity and identity."

"There is very little time" for Serbia to try to win international support for its bid to keep Kosovo, Tadić conceded, but added: "It must take the initiative in that short period of time."

Serbia does not want to rule Kosovo economically or politically, but will not accept it becoming an independent state, he said.

Yet Serbia's efforts to block final approval of the Ahtisaari plan at the UN Security Council "should not lead to destruction of our relations" with the United States and its Western allies who have supported the blueprint, Tadić said.

"Serbia's house is the European Union," he said.