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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

With respect of international law to prosperous future for Western Balkans

Beograd/Leiden, 15 November 2007

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic gave a speech at the University in Leiden and said that a prosperous future for the Western Balkans is attainable only through joint efforts to set up peace based on the respect of international law.

Jeremic, who is on a two-day visit to the Netherlands, said that certain preconditions must be fulfilled for that: international reconciliation in the region, clear European perspective for all states in the region, as well as overcoming the current stall in resolving the Kosovo-Metohija future status and finding a truly European solution for this issue.

All countries, all nations in the Western Balkans must strive towards true reconciliation and full cooperation with the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague is at the basis of this dedication, said the Minister and stressed that Serbia is determined to locate, arrest and extradite the remaining several indictees still at large.

Serbia understands that continuation of full cooperation with the Hague tribunal is not only an irrefutable international obligation of our country, but also a moral obligation towards our neighbours, and, naturally, ourselves, stressed Jeremic.

According to him, the second precondition for ensuring peace in the Western Balkans is a clearly determined road towards EU membership, which could connect all countries in the region in a way that had had never before been achieved.

However, Jeremic warned that countries in this region are still hostages to the future without a clear European deadline and added that the way ahead is immediate candidate status for all countries in the Western Balkans. The thrid condition – overcoming the present blockade in resolving the future status of Kosovo-Metohija is possible only by reaching a true European solution that in itself would include European values, such as democracy, rule of law, respect of human and minority rights.

The Minister noted that such solution is at hand, but added that the negotiations came to a dead-end because of imposing strict deadlines.

He recalled that December 10 was set as deadline and added that crucial participants in the process of negotiations are telling Belgrade and Pristina that independence will be imposed should no agreement is reached.

According to him, this is very non-European manner, the outcome of which is no solution as it only satisfies interests of one side – Kosovo Albaninans. Jeremic said that the way out of this situation is that December 10 is deadline for assessing the progress and nothing more than that, noting that redefining the importance of this date would get us out of the blockade.

This would the first time an atmosphere would be created for a historical solution, Jeremic said and added that the best way to avoid the freeze of conflicts and creating a winner and a loser in the region.

He said that proclamation of Kosovo independence, although Serbia opposes it, would be violation of UN Charter and Helsinki Final Act and would present a dangerous precendent not just for the Western Balkans but for the whole international order established after 1945.