Bulgaria's government has welcomed the election of the new Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic in a statement of Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov.

"We welcome the election of Tomislav Nikoli? as President of the Republic of Serbia and congratulate the Serbian people on holding democratic and open elections. We expect the rapid formation of a workable and viable government that would accelerate Serbia's European integration process and that would continue the ongoing reforms in the interest of the country's citizens," Mladenov stated on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Nikolic, the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, beat incumbent President Boris Tadic in the second round of the Serbian presidential elections.

"Bulgaria supports the European perspective of Serbia as well as the deepening of good-neighbourly relations and co-operation on all fronts. The new Serbian authorities face a decisive phase in the initiation of negotiations on EU membership and we expect the newly elected President and Parliament to continue the previous efforts in this regard. Mr. Nikoli? will have a key role in this process. We will continue to be a responsible and reliable partner to Serbia for the sake of prosperity and security of both our peoples," he added.

Mladenov has also noted that Bulgaria expects "the achievement of further progress in dialogue with Pri?tina, which will lead to a sustainable improvement of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, and a further strengthening of regional stability."

"I want to thank former President Boris Tadi?, who, during his term, has done much for the European orientation of Serbia and good-neighbourly relations with Bulgaria," the Bulgarian Foreign Minister concluded his statement.

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