EU reaffirms confidence over Serbia's future

BRUSSELS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The European Union reaffirmed on Monday its confidence in deepening ties with Serbia after the first round of a presidential election in which the pro-Western incumbent came second to a Russian-leaning nationalist.

"We are confident that Serbia will continue to pursue its European course and we are convinced that progress towards the EU can be accelerated," the office of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in a statement.

Nationalist Tomislav Nikolic took 39.6 percent of votes in the first round on Sunday in a field of nine candidates, ahead of 35.5 percent for pro-Western President Boris Tadic. The two face a showdown in a second round to be held on Feb. 3. (Reporting by Mark John; editing by Ingrid Melander)