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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Solution to Kosovo must not be imposed

Belgrade/Athens, 31 October 2005

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said today following a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and President Karolos Papoulias that Greece supports the Serbian position that the solution to the Kosovo status must not be imposed and has to result from a compromise. Official support of Greece on this matter is of great importance to Serbia, he added.

Vojislav Kostunica, left, and Kostas Karamanlis

Author: Fonet

“We are very thankful to Greece for its endorsement of our efforts to reach a solution to the status of Kosovo-Metohija solely through dialogue and talks, which must be neither limited by time nor rushed”, Kostunica said in a statement to the Tanjug news agency.

He said it was only logical for the Serbian delegation to visit Greece after the UN Security Council session on the status of Kosovo. Since Greece is a leading country in the region, it was important that the delegation explain in detail the Serbian viewpoint that Kostunica had stated on behalf of the Serbian government in his speech in New York.

The Prime Minister recalled that in the past, Greece has upheld the stance that the solution to the future status of Serbia’s southern province should add to peace and stability in the region. Kostunica told his interlocutors that the final solution should be in line with the principle of inviolability of state borders, guaranteed by the UN Charter and a number of other documents.

He reiterated that the solution must in no means be an imposed one, that it has to result from a compromise between both parties, which can only be reached through dialogue.

The task of the next special envoy of the UN Secretary-General will be to enable this dialogue to take place, as well as to accelerate it. The most important message from the Athens meeting is that the solution must not be imposed, especially when the country in question is a democratic one, such as Serbia-Montenegro, stressed Kostunica.

He also pointed out that Greece approves this viewpoint, which is what Serbia had anticipated, and stressed the importance of Greek support when considering the country’s position in the region, the EU and NATO.

During the meetings in Athens, Kostunica also pointed out to his hosts that it is a historical decision and a precedent that now lay ahead.

Should the decision on Kosovo-Metohija be the right one, it will lead to peace, stability and multiethnicity of the region, Kostunica pointed out.

Speaking about the possible expectations from a meeting with the Contact Group on Kosovo-Metohija scheduled for November 2 in Washington, the Serbian Prime Minister said it is expected that the talks on the province’s status should follow soon, but stressed that they need to be straightforward.

“However, neither time limitations nor a speeding up of the dialogue are acceptable”, highlighted Kostunica. He pointed out that during the meeting with Greek President Karolos Papoulias, the two officials discussed the very fact that a narrow time limit must not be set for something as complex as a negotiating process, in this case a dialogue on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija.

In a statement following the meeting with Kostunica, Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said that the solution to Kosovo’s status must be a result of talks, pointing out the importance of the realisation of democratic standards and full respect of minority rights in the southern Serbian province.

Kostunica will meet in Athens today with Speaker of the Greek parliament Anna Benaki Psarouda and President of the PASOK opposition political party Yorgo Papandreou.

On the second day of his visit to Greece, Kostunica will visit Mount Athos and the Hilandar Monastery.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Minister of International Economic Relations Milan Parivodic, Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo and Minister of Culture Dragan Kojadinovic.

In a statement to the Beta news agency, Serbian Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo said he met with Greek Minister of Economy and Finance Yorgos Alogoskoufis. They agreed that Serbia, as an industrial country with huge production capacities, could become the regional manufacturing base with the support of Greek service sectors such as tourism, banking, transport and trade.

Setting up a base of that kind is a logical thing to do since Greeks have placed investments into several Serbian companies and they hold a distinguished position in its banking sector. It is therefore expected that Greece participate in the financing of the manufacturing sector in Serbia, he explained.

The economy ministers also discussed problems certain Greek firms are experiencing in Serbia, as well as the takeover of the Nacionalna Stedionica bank by Greece’s EFG Eurobank, the beginning of the implementation of projects within the Hellenic plan for the reconstruction of economy in the Balkans, which includes the completion of the highway through Serbia (Corridor 10), and the transport of electricity on the North-South route.

Serbian Minister of International Economic Relations Milan Parivodic and Greek Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Evripidis Stylianidis, who is in charge of development cooperation, announced that a tender for Corridor 10 will be called in spring. They also discussed the funding of the project, in which the European Investment Bank will participate with up to 50 percent of capital.

Parivodic and Stylianidis also talked about the Greek initiative to reconstruct the Nebojsa tower in Belgrade, where the Ottomans murdered Riga Fereou, the Greek poet and revolutionary who was also an advocate for the cooperation of the Balkan peoples.

Serbian Minister of Culture Dragan Kojadinovic met today in Athens with Greek Alternate Minister of Culture Fani Palli Petralia and discussed the strengthening of the countries’ bilateral cooperation in the sphere of culture, especially in the film and theatre arts, publishing and modern art.

In a statement to the Tanjug news agency, Kojadinovic stressed the importance of this cooperation because Belgrade is finally coming back on the European scene as a significant capital city in the domain of culture. He especially pointed out that it is important to include the young population in the cooperation between Serbia and Greece, so that in the future they and the generations to come can maintain the friendly relationship between the two countries.

Since the previous cultural agreement between Serbia and Greece, signed back in 1959, has become out-dated, a new one should be signed, said Kojadinovic.

He thanked Fani Palli Petralia for the Greek support in the protection of Serbian monuments in Kosovo-Metohija, particularly the ones that had been damaged in the March 2004 outburst of violence of ethnic-Albanians.

“During our meeting I pointed out that what is happening in Kosovo-Metohija is not only an expression of ethnic hatred, but also of religious intolerance. Ethnic-Albanians are striving to eradicate the foundations of the Serbian culture and history, even of the Orthodox civilisation, since they claim that medieval Orthodox churches were built on the foundations of Iliric monuments. It is a fabrication of history”, he said.

When it comes to Kosovo-Metohija, Serbia is relying on international law and justice, Kojadinovic said and added that the province is a part of Serbia, and that “there does not exist a hand that will give its signature for the independence of the Serbian Jerusalem”.

He also thanked Petralia for Greek assistance in the reconstruction of the Hilandar monastery, but pointed out that Serbian workers and art restorers are having problems receiving Greek visas, without which they cannot work on the reconstruction of the monastery.