Q:
A:
Unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence contrary to international law
Belgrade/Rome,
25 October 2007
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said that Serbia shall never accept the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo-Metohija as it would be contrary to international law.
File photo of Vojislav Kostunica
Author:
Fonet
Kostunica said in an interview with Sunday’s edition of Italian newspaper "Il Sole 24 Ore" that apart from being contrary to international law, it would also be a dangerous precedent not only for the Balkans but for the whole of Europe.
He said that the US is constantly pressuring Pristina not to reach a compromise solution and is not truly interested in Kosovo to be independent. Rather than that, Washington would prefer to create a NATO-managed state in the heart of Europe.
According to him, it is certainly not accidental that the US established a giant military base named Bondsteel after the 1999 bombing of Serbia. Asked whether young people in Serbia are more in favour of the future than the past – meaning more in favour of EU integration than preservation of Kosovo, Kostunica replied that the past is more than just mere history.
History is a vitally important aspect of national identity and that is the principle all European countries defend, the Prime Minister stressed and added that Serbia’s integration in the EU is in the interest of all of us, but also of the whole of Europe.
As for Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague tribunal and arrest of Ratko Mladic, which prevents Serbia on its EU road, Kostunica said that Serbia is being punished for not locating one man.
This thing could be observed from another angle. I will say only as a hypothesis: who should be responsible if Mladic is not in Serbia after all, Kostunica asked.
He said that the US is constantly pressuring Pristina not to reach a compromise solution and is not truly interested in Kosovo to be independent. Rather than that, Washington would prefer to create a NATO-managed state in the heart of Europe.
According to him, it is certainly not accidental that the US established a giant military base named Bondsteel after the 1999 bombing of Serbia. Asked whether young people in Serbia are more in favour of the future than the past – meaning more in favour of EU integration than preservation of Kosovo, Kostunica replied that the past is more than just mere history.
History is a vitally important aspect of national identity and that is the principle all European countries defend, the Prime Minister stressed and added that Serbia’s integration in the EU is in the interest of all of us, but also of the whole of Europe.
As for Serbia’s cooperation with the Hague tribunal and arrest of Ratko Mladic, which prevents Serbia on its EU road, Kostunica said that Serbia is being punished for not locating one man.
This thing could be observed from another angle. I will say only as a hypothesis: who should be responsible if Mladic is not in Serbia after all, Kostunica asked.
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