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Jeremic presents Serbia’s official position on Kosovo in Washington

Washington/Belgrade, 27 July 2007

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic will speak today in Washington D.C. with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the US State Department Nicholas Burns and National Security Advisor Steven Hadley on continuation of the Kosovo status talks and bilateral relations between the two countries.

Vuk Jeremic interviewed by AP news agency in Washington DC

Author: Fonet/AP

Prior to his two-day visit to the US, Jeremic announced that during the talks with US top officials and representatives of Congress he will try to change the atmosphere that has been present over the past few months in communication between Washington and Belgrade.

Jeremic said the visit is of crucial importance in the effort to ensure a substantial quality in the course of negotiating process for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija, which will be very important before the beginning of a new round of talks under the umbrella of the Contact Group.

The Minister explained that the problem of solving the status of Kosovo fits into a bigger picture of integrations of the whole Western Balkans into the EU, with expectation that he will encounter readiness from US officials to listen to the proposals of Belgrade that is ready for a compromise.

They have not listened to us so far. New negotiations are opening now and I think it is a crucial moment when we should start seriously speaking with our partners, especially in countries that are crucial for making the decision on the future status of Kosovo, including the United States, said Jeremic.

Yesterday, Jeremic met with leading politicians in the Senate and the House of Representatives, with whom he discussed Kosovo issue and encountered a high degree of understanding.

Jeremic told RTS that he repeated the official position of Serbia and presented it in light of the current situation in Kosovo.

He explained that the Serbian position is to find a compromise solution that will enable peace and stability in the Balkans, which is a precondition for EU and Euro-Atlantic integration of the Western Balkans.

There are several resolutions supporting Ahtisaari’s plan currently in the procedure in the Senate and the House of Representatives, which is why talks with representatives of both Republicans and the Democrats were crucial.

The Minister explained that the Serbian caucus did a great job by preventing resolutions advising US President George Bush to support independence of the Serbian southern province to be put on the voting agenda in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Jeremic met with senators Richard Lugar and George Voinovich, leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives Tom Lantos, representatives of the House Subcommittee on Europe and the Serbian caucus on Capitol Hill.