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UN SC will be informed on Serbia’s stand that Ahtisaari’s plan should be rejected

Belgrade/New York, 3 April 2007

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said this evening that he is convinced that Ahtisaari’s plan will be defeated, which is also suggested by the fact that the Security Council was at loggerheads for two days regarding the structure of the session.

Author: www.un.org

In an interview for the Radio-Television of Serbia from New York, Kostunica said that ambassadors of the member countries of the UN Security Council will be informed on the official stand of Serbia that UN Special Envoy Marti Ahtisaari’s plan must be rejected.

Kostunica said that that is the only way to make a different plan and proposal for the status of Kosovo-Metohija, which would be in accordance with the UN Charter and UN SC Resolution 1244, in order finally to reach a solution based on compromise, which should have resulted from the negotiations which Ahtisaari in reality never actually led.

He expressed conviction that today’s disagreement in New York suggests that Ahtisaari’s plan will be defeated. He added that a new process of negotiations, established on a different basis, should be started, starting with the fact that the UN Charter, as a valid document, guarantees the territorial integrity and sovereignty of every country, including Serbia.

A solution based on compromise should be found in the form of a high degree of substantial autonomy within and not outside Serbia, without creating one more Albanian country in the Balkans, stressed Kostunica.

He said that Moscow has presented a good idea that the situation concerning human rights and the rights of non-Albanian population in Kosovo-Metohija should be examined. He recalled that during the previous few days a crime was reported in Zubin Potok and the centuries old Serbian monastery Visoki Decani was attacked with a mortar grenade.

According to Kostunica, it is necessary to return to what was said also by Norwegian Ambassador Kai Eide, and that is the formula “first standards, then status”, following which a compromise should be sought while respecting the UN SC Resolution 1244 and the UN Charter.

Kostunica said that the atmosphere in New York and EU in the last few days has been different, because, as he put it, consequences of any eventual solution for Kosovo-Metohija are being considered, and those who are champions of the idea that this is an issue regarding a unique case are losing support, while there is growing awareness that we are at the brink of a precedent.

Kostunica said that yesterday's consultations that he had with the UN ambassadors of Russia and China are very important, during which the respect for the UN Charter was underlined, as well as the danger of a precedent that could be created by the implementation of Ahtisaari's plan.

Speaking about his meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Kostunica said that he informed him that Serbia does not accept Ahtisaari's plan and that violation of the oath he himself took concerning the respect for the UN Charter, could have immeasurable consequences.

Naturally, Ahtisaari has his position, the UN Secretary-General his own view, but the Security Council has the final word, the Serbian Prime Minister concluded.