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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Imposing Kosovo-Metohija independence could lead to regional destabilisation

Belgrade, 21 July 2007

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic said in an interview for today’s edition of the daily “Vecernje Novosti” that the key message of his upcoming visit to the US will be that imposing a solution for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija will destabilise the region.

The official website of the Serbian government presents excerpts of the interview.

The visit to US:

Parts of the international community are considering whether to opt for the idea of seeking a solution based on compromise, or to give up on that and turn to unilateral actions. The US is a key country since it favours unilateral actions. Due to that it is important to directly or indirectly influence the US, so that they do not adopt that policy, rather support continuation of the process which could lead to a compromise solution.

Which arguments will you use to try and change the US stand on Kosovo-Metohija?

I will speak of the dangers which threaten the region if it comes to unilateral, imbalanced solutions which are not based on compromise. I will show our readiness to continue negotiations, and I will seek for all sides to be dedicated to preservation of peace and stability since the safety of not a single citizen of Serbia in Kosovo-Metohija, regardless of their ethnic origin, should be jeopardized at any point.

It is becoming increasingly certain that the price of an imposed decision in an international sense is getting very high. I think that it is almost completely certain that a solution which leads to one or another kind of independence for Kosovo-Metohija cannot acquire legitimacy in the UN Security Council. That is why efforts are still being made to reach a Security Council resolution which could make it easier to impose independence later on.

When I will visit the US, it will already be absolutely clear that independence can be imposed only outside the Security Council, and that means without legitimacy. Under such conditions, I hope that my US collocutors will be ready to listen to our arguments. The key message will be that imposition of a decision will cost the region too much, since the region will be destabilised, and Europe as well, since they will have a destabilised region on their territory. It will also cost the world too much since without a Security Council resolution we would have an international legal precedent which will have consequences.

US statement that independence can be reached outside the Security Council:

During the next week it will become clear that the Security Council cannot allow such a solution and that will be a new situation. But, we have worked a lot on creating resistance in Europe to unilateral decisions. I have visited 12 European countries during the past two months and I think that a wide block of EU countries has been created which is showing a great degree of reservation regarding an imposed unilateral decision, and that is an important factor.

Transfer of the process to the Contact Group:

Our stand is clear: the final solution must receive legitimacy through Security Council support. And Security Council support is not required for continuation of negotiations. Currently there is a debate on modalities of negotiations, and we want to be flexible. It is important that the process is not separated from the UN.

Possibility of launching initiative for selecting new mediator:

We want to be constructive. The earlier mediator did not do a good job since it came to a solution which was not based on compromise, and for us compromise is the only solution – and I don’t think that it will be ideal to continue with the earlier mediator.

Will the US or one of the EU countries support independence for Kosovo-Metohija incase the province declares independence:

It is too early to talk of that. Certainly there is a tendency to declaring independence in Kosovo-Metohija, and within the US administration, but that is a far cry from Washington adopting such a decision. It is up to us that through our political and diplomatic efforts we radically reduce the chance of something like that taking place.

Regarding new negotiations if basis for them is Ahtisaari’s plan:

If you remember, at first a large number of countries supported that plan. Then we entered the phase when Ahtisaari’s efforts were supported, and now we have come to the point where his plan could be a basis. That shows support for Ahtisaari is gradually dropping.

On necessity for quick solution for Kosovo-Metohija:

It is in the interest of all sides that a solution is reached as soon as possible, above all due to the EU integration of the Balkans. Imposing artificial deadlines is not useful for finding solutions based on compromise, since this will not motivate the Albanian side to seek a solution, rather only to wait for the deadline to be crossed in order to say that no solution could be found.

On accusations that the Serbian side is not constructive:

Unfortunately, until now there was a mistaken conviction that independence is the only solution. And anyone who opposed that predetermined solution was declared non-constructive. At the moment, we can begin a new round, in which there will actually be an element of uncertainty regarding the outcome of negotiations.

What sort of reception are you expecting in the US?

My first priority is to ease the tensions which have existed in bilateral relations during the previous period and to recall the fact that we have a joint interest in many issues. In a strategic sense we have the same goals: democracy and a European future for the Balkans, market economy, promotion of similar values. When it is established that we have a wide range of common interests and tensions are eased, we will turn to the subject regarding which we have diametrically opposed opinions, and that is Kosovo-Metohija.