Serbia-Montenegro president to resign after referendum

People attend a rally to celebrate the vote for independence, in the medeival capital of Cetinje, some 35 km west of Podgorica, Monday, May 22, 2006. Montenegro's state electoral commission confirmed the victory of a pro-independence bloc in a referendum to secede from Serbia to form a separate state and said that according to near-complete results, 55.4 percent voted Sunday for Montenegro to become and independent state. The European Union has said a minimum 55 percent threshold of 'Yes' votes was needed for Montenegro to secede. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

    BELGRADE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Serbia-Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic said on Tuesday that he would resign on Thursday after convening the final Council of Ministers session.

    "I will come to Belgrade to hold the final Council of Ministers session, most probably on Thursday, and to resign from the post of Council and state union president," Marovic told the national Tanjug news agency. Full story>>

    BELGRADE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Serbian President Boris Tadic said on Tuesday he accepted the preliminary results of Montenegro's independence referendum that heralded the tiny Balkan republic's breakaway from the state union of Serbia-Montenegro.

    "As a president I advocated preservation of the state union, but as a president of a democratic country, I am ready to accept the majority decision of the people of Montenegro," Tadic told a press conference. Full story>>

Montenegro, Serbia remain partners for Russia: Foreign Ministry

Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic joins the celebration of the vote for independence, in the medeival capital of Cetinje, some 35 km west of Podgorica, Monday, May 22, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

    MOSCOW, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Montenegro and Serbia "were and remain close and reliable partners" for Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday over the referendum on Montenegro's secession from the state entity with Serbia.

    "Our cooperation with both republics has a firm political and economic basis, deep historical roots," the ministry was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying. Full story>>

Results show 55.5% of Montenegrin voters favor independence

People attend a rally to celebrate the vote for independence, in the medeival capital of Cetinje, some 35 km west of Podgorica, Monday, May 22, 2006.  (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

    BELGRADE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 55.5 percent of Montenegrin voters supported the Balkan republic's independence from the state union of Serbia-Montenegro, the complete preliminary results of the referendum showed Tuesday.

    "A total of 55.5 percent of the citizens voted for an independent Montenegro, while 44.5 percent voted for the common state," Frantisek Lipka, president of the Republican Referendum Commission in Montenegro, told a press conference in Podgorica. Full story>>