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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Kosovo's independence would drag the region into serious instability

Belgrade/Washington, 12 July 2006

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in Washington after the talks with US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice that the independence of Kosovo-Metohija would drag the region into serious instability.

Vojislav Kostunica and Condoleezza Rice

Author: Tanjug/EPA

Kostunica told the reporters that snatching away 15% of a country's territory is possible only if democracy is trampled underfoot.

Kostunica and Rice agreed that it is very important that the negotiations on Kosovo be prepared well and that the solution for the province be found in line with the Contact Group's guiding principles.

Kostunica presented to the US State Secretary Serbia's proposal for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija and reiterated that the official Belgrade is ready to make a compromise, but that the only thing that is out of question is Kosovo's independence.

The Serbian Prime Minister met with Condoleezza Rice and her associates, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, US representative in the negotiations on Kosovo Frank Wisner and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasia Rosemary Di Carlo.

He said that widest autonomy for Kosovo is a solution that respects the rules of international law in all segments, first of all the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty of the existing states.

Kostunica explained that such a solution at the same time is in line with European mechanisms for resolution of cases such as Kosovo, which provide autonomy and the respect for minority rights, and not redrawing of the existing borders.

Such a solution that is also based on compromise, the Serbian Prime Minister added, and highlighted that the other solution - independence - has all disadvantages that the Serbian solution does not have.

According to Kostunica, the other solution does not guarantee stability and is based on violation of international law. It does not search for a compromise because it is imposed and as such, could lead the region into serious instability. Such a solution also brings into question the basic democratic values.

The Serbian Prime Minister talked last night with Advisor of the US President for National Security Stephen Handley. He said after the meeting that he tried to show to his American collocutors all the advantages of Serbia's solution for Kosovo.

Kosovo is a complex problem, and complex problems cannot be solved in a simple way, with drastic measures, Kostunica warned. He explained that Serbia's proposal is not something that cannot be tried in practice. If it proves to be wrong, it can be changed. However, in case of independent Kosovo, such a solution could not be corrected.

Kostunica also warned that in the event of Kosovo's independence, whatever form that independence might have, one question arises - how can a part of a democratic state's territory be snatched away?

He stressed that in all the talks he has had in recent years and in recent months in European capitals, no one has given him an answer to that question.

Asked by reporters how the Americans see a compromise solution, Kostunica said that he talked much more about compromise than his collocutors in Europe and Washington.

I insisted that only a solution to which both Belgrade and Pristina agree can be acceptable. I pointed to the fact that compromise is a bit forgotten on the Contact Group's paper, but that it can be valorised again through negotiations in Vienna, the Serbian Prime Minister stressed.

Apart from the Serbian Prime Minister, his foreign policy advisor Vladeta Jankovic and Coordinator of the Serbian negotiating team in Vienna negotiations Slobodan Samardzic also attended the meetings with US officials.

Kostunica continues his visit to Washington today with talks with US Vice President Richard Cheney. The meeting will focus on relations between Serbia and the US and the issue of Kosovo.

On July 13, Kostunica will take part in the UN Security Council session in New York, at which the problem of Kosovo-Metohija will be discussed.

At the session Kostunica will present Serbia's position that substantial autonomy for Kosovo is a compromise solution, in line with international law, democratic values and European standards.