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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Solution for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija must not be imposed

New York, 20 June 2006

Head of the Coordinating Centre for Kosovo-Metohija Sanda Raskovic-Ivic said today at the United Nations Security Council session in New York that the solution for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija must not be an imposed one.

Addressing ambassadors of member countries of the Security Council she stressed that a lot more effort by both sides is required, and they should be prepared for alternatives. She added that any solution that makes one side a winner and the other a loser is not a good one.

She said that Serbia is ready to make all efforts necessary together with the Security Council in the manner envisaged by international norms, in order to reach a compromise solution. She expressed her conviction that the international community will not allow a democratic country to be broken up because of pressure and threat of aggression.

That would seriously undermine the fundamental principles upon which international order rests, said Raskovic-Ivic, and pointed out that Serbia is determinedly opposed to changing borders and any attempt of forcing a solution for Kosovo-Metohija, because that would mean division of the country and seizure of a part of its territory.

Aiming to provide a new incentive for negotiations, the Serbian government has put forward two initiatives, she said, and explained that the first initiative proposes that direct talks between Belgrade and Pristina on the status of Kosovo-Metohija begin with a round of negotiations at the highest level. Four working tables should continue later – on constitutional issues, economic questions, security and decentralisation stated Raskovic Ivic.

The second initiative presents a concrete proposal regarding the future status of Kosovo-Metohija, which represents a compromise between two extremes – the status of Kosovo-Metohija until 1999 on the one hand, and independence on the other.

This is the most concrete proposal presented by the Serbian side, which offers more than classic autonomy that is known and implemented in European countries, she said. She added that it is proposed that an international agreement ensuing from the negotiations on status should be concluded, of which Serbia and the UN would be signatories and guarantors.

According to Raskovic-Ivic, reviving the technical dialogue, implying the work of the working groups established on the basis of results of the meeting in Vienna in 2003, is an important part of defining the future status and the peace process.

She pointed out that Serbia is ready to find a compromise solution for Kosovo-Metohija, and expressed her conviction that the Security Council will act justly, applying the same rules to Serbia, and the same universal principles which are valid for every member country of the Security Council and the UN.

I am completely convinced that the principles of international law and order are essentially more powerful than any form of legal violence, concluded the Head of the Coordinating Centre for Kosovo-Metohija.