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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Kostunica's visit to UN SC and Washington important for defence of Serbia's interests in Kosovo

Belgrade, 8 July 2006

Advisor to the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Simic said that Kostunica's upcoming appearance before the UN Security Council on July 13 and visit to Washington on July 11 and 12 should crown the Serbian Prime Minister's diplomatic activities.

Aleksandar Simic

In an interview for today's edition of the daily Danas, Simic said that during his visit to the USA, Kostunica will present the platform of the Serbian government's negotiating team for Kosovo future status, as well as their viewpoint regarding the Vienna talks between Belgrade and Pristina so far. He will also elaborate on a proposal that he and Serbian President Boris Tadic had sent to Contact Group members, UN Secretary General and his Special Envoy for Kosovo-Metohija Martti Ahtisaari in the form of a letter, added Simic.

"A new element and the Prime Minister and President's idea is that the current way of negotiating, which started with everyday or life issues and was marked as "talks on status-neutral issues", has yielded no results", said Simic.

Apart from talks on the status that should begin this month, issues that were discussed in meetings in Vienna will not be neglected, he added.

"These are vital issues when it comes to human rights and primarily the rights of Kosovo Serbs, but also other non-ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Moreover, these issues are of vital importance for Serbia as well, since it wishes to make all its citizens feel safe, particularly the ones who feel the country as their own", said Simic.

He said that the Serbian team's initiative for talks on status does not mean that "status-neutral issues" will be disregarded. They would be given appropriate significance by raising the responsibility level of negotiators, he explained.

"More importantly, this would require the indispensable seriousness of the mediator, that is, UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari and his associates. Unfortunately, they have not demonstrated that they are engaged enough in the talks and that they are familiar enough with the situation in the field", said Simic.