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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Serbia gets support for opening new round of Kosovo talks

Luxembourg, 18 June 2007

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said today in Luxembourg that the implication of today's bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of France, Portugal, Slovenia and the Netherlands is that Serbia will receive support for opening a new round of negotiations on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija.

Bozidar Djelic

Author: Fonet

Djelic said at a press conference held after meetings with foreign ministers of France and Slovenia Bernard Kouchner and Dimitrij Rupel that diplomats are the ones who should bridge differences and reiterated that Serbia wants a compromise solution for Kosovo-Metohija that will respect its territorial integrity.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that it is very important that there is a complete agreement in Europe that the issue of Kosovo-Metohija must be solved within the framework of the UN resolution, which shows that the Union does not want to divide on this issue.

However, the majority of EU countries still request that that the question of the southern Serbian province be voted upon in the UN Security Council as soon as possible.

Djelic invited Minister Kouchner to visit Belgrade in July, underlining that that will be a very important visit.

We have to make Kouchner see the defects of an independent Kosovo, but also to get his support for France to officially give us the EU candidate status during its EU presidency in the second half of 2008, Djelic said.

He said that France is a very important member of the Contact Group and referred to the initiative of French President Nicolas Sarkozy concerning Kosovo, and that is to launch new direct negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina and if those negotiations give no results, to adopt Ahtisaari's plan for Kosovo.

He said that that is unacceptable for Serbia because an outcome would be determined in advance and if the outcome is known in advance, then these are not negotiations. However, if there is readiness to open a true round of negotiations, Serbia is there to give her proposals.

The Deputy Prime Minister voiced hope that the words heard at the G-8 summit will be converted into the form of a new round of negotiations on Kosovo and added that Kouchner with his great experience in the region can help find a compromise solution.

After the meeting with Rupel, Djelic reiterated Serbia's position that it cannot accept any form of Kosovo independence.

Serbia will defend its territorial integrity in a civilised and diplomatic, therefore, right, European way, he said and added that Serbia expects the same attitude from its European friends, among which is Slovenia.

Djelic said that it is good that Rupel expressed Slovenia's readiness to support new negotiations on Kosovo and rejected the idea of a precipitous adoption of a resolution in the UN Security Council.

Djelic also met today with Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amada and Dutch Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans with whom he talked about Serbia's European Integration.

He said that Amada conveyed Portugal's wish to help Serbia get prepared for the "white Schengen list" since one Portuguese company is in charge for technological and IT support to countries which are expected to join the list.

On the second day of the visit, within the framework of the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasburg, Djelic, who is also head of Serbia's team for negotiations with the EU will talk with European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering, and several bilateral meetings are also scheduled to take place with members of the European Commission and members of the European Parliament.

On the same day the delegation will travel to Brussels to attend a dinner organised in honour of Djelic in the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, where Djelic will hold a lecture titled, “Serbia after Elections”.

On the third day of the visit Djelic will meet with EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. The rest of day is reserved for meetings with representatives of influential non-governmental organisations and institutes based in Brussels, such as the International Crisis Group, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Centre for Strategic Studies and the Centre for European Policy Studies.