Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia-Montenegro in future talks on Kosovo-Metohija

Belgrade, 4 November 2005

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said today at a meeting with ambassadors of the EU member states to Serbia-Montenegro that the top authorities of Serbia-Montenegro have created a position for future talks on the issue of Kosovo-Metohija, based on the principles of international law and inviolability of sovereignty and territorial integrity of democratic states, as well as reaching a compromise in the form of essential autonomy for Kosovo-Metohija within the borders of Serbia-Montenegro.

Vojislav Kostunica

The principles, endorsed by the top authorities of the country, were presented by the Prime Minister at the UN Security Council session held on October 24 in New York.

At the last meeting of the Serbian government, the Prime Minister said he expects that the Serbian parliament will soon pass a resolution giving mandate to Serbia’s negotiating team in forthcoming talks.

The Prime Minister pointed out the necessity of abiding by international law and respecting UN Security Council Resolution 1244, and added that the preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as essential autonomy for Kosovo-Metohija are mentioned in the resolution several times, but there is not a single reference to independence.

“We have the obligation to comply with international documents”, said the Serbian Prime Minister and underlined the necessity of conducting direct talks and reaching a compromise solution, which must not be imposed, because any imposed solution would have tremendous consequences for stability in the region, said Kostunica.

The representatives of the EU member states unanimously agreed that the solution to the Kosovo-Metohija issue must preserve stability in the region.

At today’s meeting, the issue of Serbia-Montenegro’s EU integration was also discussed, as well as the upcoming talks on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), due to begin on November 7.

Kostunica stressed that the start of talks on the SAA is the absolute priority for Serbia-Montenegro at this moment and that the country is completely oriented towards EU integration.

“Therefore, a possible referendum in Montenegro should be set aside, and in the case that it comes to it, the Constitutional Charter clearly defines that the referendum rules must be fully in line with the EU and the recommendations of the Venetian Commission”, Kostunica said.

Present at the meeting were the representatives of the European Commission, current holder of the EU presidency Great Britain, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.