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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Democratic government in Belgrade has made a huge step towards compromise

Belgrade/New York, 22 September 2005

Serbia-Montenegrin Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Draskovic said today at the session of the UN General Assembly that the conclusion of the Contact Group that in Kosovo things cannot go back to what they were like in 1999 must equally apply to both the Serbian and ethnic Albanian sides, which means that there cannot be limited autonomy, but neither can there be independence for the province.

Vuk Draskovic

Author: Tanjug

Addressing the participants in the session, Draskovic said that the democratic government in Belgrade has made a huge step towards compromise by proposing that Kosovo-Metohija get a status that would be more than autonomy, but less than independence.

Unfortunately, still insisting that independence is the only solution, Kosovo Albanians have not left the trenches they had dug before 1999, Draskovic said.

Stressing that Serbia-Montenegro supports the conclusion of the Contact Group, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the international community also bears part of the blame for the more than tragic position of Serbs and other non-Albanians in the province, and for political extremism of the ethnic Albanian majority, followed by numerous crimes.

The standards requested for Kosovo-Metohija are not even close to the state of being fulfilled, Draskovic pointed out and posed a question of the international community whether it is their intention to abandon the "standards before status" policy because of that.

Reiterating that he had warned seven days ago at the UN General Assembly's plenary session that the situation in Kosovo-Metohija seriously threatens stability in the Balkans, Draskovic said that ethnic Albanian extremists already for months have been threatening openly with a pogrom against the remaining Serbs, Montenegrins and other non-Albanians, as well as that they will attack the UN peacekeeping forces themselves if their ultimatum for the proclamation of independent Kosovo is not met.

According to Draskovic, the recent murders of Serb youths announced the fulfilment of these threats, and ultimatums and threats with crimes must not be accepted anywhere in the world, as well as in Kosovo. Draskovic added that that will be made clear, definitely and resolutely, to the ethnic Albanian majority in the southern province.

He said that Serbia-Montenegro requests the European level of protection of the right of national minorities in Kosovo, protection of churches and monasteries and the European status of existing state borders with Macedonia and Albania.

Serbia-Montenegro does not request anything more, and the UN Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 does not allow for anything less. Our rights do not harm any right of the ethnic Albanian majority, and the independent state of Kosovo is not a guaranteed right but an extreme request, Draskovic warned.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that Serbia-Montenegro is truly and utterly willing to make a compromise, and a compromise envisages that one side cannot get all, and the other lose all.

We are for reconciliation and a joint European future in which Serbs, Montenegrins and Albanians will be good neighbours and friends. A stable and Europe-oriented Kosovo means a stable region of the Western Balkans, Draskovic said.

Draskovic recalled that since June 10, 1999, when the UN protectorate was established in Kosovo-Metohija, approximately 200,000 Serbs and Montenegrins, but also Turks, Croats, Roma, Jews and other non-ethnic Albanians have been banished from the province, and that now almost 80 percent of the territory is solely inhabited by ethnic Albanians.

According to the minister, several hundred Serbs have been killed, among whom a lot have been children. Around 40,000 Serb houses and 150 monasteries have been pulled down and burned to the ground, and remaining Serbs and non-ethnic Albanians are living in enclaves, with no life guarantees and no freedom of movement.

Draskovic stressed that there is no one in Europe as unprotected as this group, adding that Serbia-Montenegro hopes that the UN army and police forces will remain in Kosovo-Metohija, because without them, the tragedy of Serbs and other minorities will be complete.