The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, has said he hopes there will be a speedy formation of a pro-EU government in Serbia following weekend elections there.
The staunchly nationalist Radical Party, which is opposed to EU membership, is expected to top the poll but is not expected to find a coalition partner that would put it into government.
Javier Solana noted that a majority of Serbian voters had opted for parties that were democratic and pro-European.
Mr Solana expressed his hope that there would be a 'speedy formation' of a government that 'would be on the line of pro-European forces'.
Earlier, the Serbian Radical Party (SRP) claimed victory in the country's general election with just under 30% of the votes.
However, the party's deputy leader, Tomislav Nikolic, has already predicted that they will not be invited to form the next government and that Serbian President Boris Tadic 'will not give us the mandate'.
SRS, whose official leader, Vojislav Seselj, is on trial in The Hague for alleged war crimes, fought a strong anti-Western election campaign.
Serbia went to the polls yesterday in its first general election since its union with Montenegro was dissolved last year. The electoral commission said turnout was about 62% of the 6.6m eligible voters.
