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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Serbia advocates compromise, just solution of Kosovo-Metohija's status

Vienna, 10 March 2007

In today's address at the talks on Kosovo-Metohija's future status, held at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that the process of resolving the Kosovo issue must be directed towards finding a compromise and just solution which would enable peaceful and safe future for everyone in Kosovo-Metohija, entire Serbia and beyond.

The Serbian state negotiating team for the talks on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija Vuk Draskovic, Vojislav Kostunica and Boris Tadic

Author: Fonet

Kostunica said that any wrong decision will inevitably have far-reaching consequences for Serbia, as well as the entire Balkan region.

"In other words, this means that any misconceived decision would represent a dangerous precedent for the entire international order. Today, we still have the opportunity to make a decision together in order to direct the resolution process towards a compromise and just solution which will enable a peaceful and safe future for everyone in Kosovo, the entire Serbia and beyond", said the Prime Minister.

He said that today's meeting will achieve its highest goal if the collocutors manage to adjust Ahtisaari's proposal to the fundamental principles of international law, the UN Charter, the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, as well as the actual interests of both ethnic Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija.

"Serbia is under obligation to recognise the fact that, in the form in which Ahtisaari's proposal was presented to us, many of its provisions directly breach Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, reshape its international borders, cut its territory and allow that 15% of its territory be severed and another Albanian state formed in the Balkans", said Kostunica.

He stressed that the proposal does not resolve the status of Kosovo-Metohija, but in fact opens the issue of Serbia's status as a state, which is completely illegal and illegitimate.

"Therefore the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia decided to reject all provisions of Mister Ahtisaari's proposal which breach the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia. This decision of the National Assembly is final and irrevocable", emphasised Kostunica.

Author: Fonet

He said that at this meeting, Serbia is stating its position and confirming it is fully determined not to give up on trying to find a just, compromise and sustainable solution.

As a free and sovereign country, Serbia is declaring that it will reject any imposed solution with equal determination, he said. "We are duly warning that any attempt at imposing a solution to a free state is equal to legal violence and represents an absolutely impermissible way of solving current problems", said the Prime Minister.

Kostunica stressed that Serbia is one of the UN founding countries and its full member, therefore the validity of the UN Charter, as well as the Helsinki Final Act, for Serbia is beyond question.

"Serbia is pointing to the fact that ever since the UN were formed and the UN Charter came into force, it never has a considerable portion of territory been taken from one of its member countries. The severing of Kosovo-Metohija from Serbia would represent the most dangerous precedent in the history of the UN", said the Prime Minister and invited all states to help prevent this perilous development and resist the creation of a precedent which will tomorrow lead to new alterations of borders and endanger the foundations upon which the entire international order is based.

Kostunica said that Serbia is under obligation to bring to their attention another consequential fact, namely that threats of ethnic Albanian separatists may now be heard more often in which they threaten to resort to open violence if the province is not granted independence.

"The entire international community today must face this challenge openly. It is their obligation to decidedly and without compromise, for the sake of the future of the world we live in, respond that threats of terror must never be succumbed to. Such concessions are not a solution, not even a short-term one, but inevitably represent a promotion of violence as a means of achieving political goals", said Kostunica.

The Serbian Prime Minister said that hundreds of thousands of Serbs have been exiled from Kosovo-Metohija and the structure of the population there radically changed in the last half a century.

"It is a known fact that after the World War II 30% of Serbs lived in the province and that this number was extremely reduced through separatists' activities and banishment of Serbs. This is the best proof that in the basis of independent Kosovo lies the project of an ethnically clean Kosovo-Metohija and this is the key reason why separatists are systematically preventing the return of thousands of exiles despite the presence of an international peace mission in the province", said Kostunica. He added that whoever resorts to violence in order to achieve their goals must be most harshly punished, especially since this has not been the case so far, despite the presence of international military forces in Kosovo-Metohija.

This means the international community carries not a small share of responsibilities, said Kostunica adding that in his report to the Security Council from October 24, 2005, Special Envoy Kai Eide also speaks of this responsibility.

Author: Fonet

Kostunica stressed that in a moral and political sense, the conclusion that Serbs and ethnic Albanians cannot live together and that the position of ethnic Albanians, presented in the form of an ultimatum, that Albanians in Kosovo cannot live in one state with Serbs in Serbia is utterly unacceptable for Serbia and is against the values the modern world is based on.

Kostunica said that Serbia therefore proposes the search for a solution that would for the first time establish the province's system of government on true democratic principles, whereas radical solutions, precedents and experiments must be forgotten and their place taken by authenticated and European models for resolving minority issues.

"Substantial autonomy for Kosovo-Metohija is not an empty word or a platitude, but the best and most certain way for enabling the ethnic Albanian minority in the province to manage their own lives and future the way they see fit", said the Prime Minster adding that substantial autonomy is a realistic solution since it is in line with the UN Charter and essential principles of international law.

He particularly stressed that Serbia strongly insists that UN SC Resolution 1244 and obligations stemming from it be the foundation for the talks and the basis for finding a compromise solution.

"During the one year of talks, including the six month break, this was completely disregarded. In fact, the talks were led under the shadow of allegedly already known solution, which impeded the course of the negotiations and disabled the search for a compromise solution", added Kostunica.

He emphasised that UN SC Resolution 1244 explicitly confirms Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the inviolability of its internationally recognised borders.

"This is understandable, since the Security Council's Resolution cannot be opposed to the UN Charter. However, apart from this obvious truth, Resolution 1244 also clearly determines the obligations that must be fulfilled, which primarily refer to the issue of standards, above all to the rights of Serbs and other non-ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. The indisputable and easily verifiable truth is that in all essential matters, standards are simply not being fulfilled", said Kostunica. He added that it is of greatest interest that Ahtisaari makes additional effort regarding further talks and introduces in his proposal the most important elements of Resolution 1244.

At the end of his address, the Serbian Prime Minister said that Serbia is taking this opportunity to call for a continuation of proper and comprehensive negotiations on the basis of Resolution 1244 which would lead to a compromise solution, in line with the UN Charter and the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia.

Closing statement of Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica at talks in Vienna on March 10