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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Many countries will follow Russia's policy on Kosovo

Belgrade, 31 December 2007

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica voiced hope that many countries will follow Serbia and Russia in their effort to confront a unilateral proclamation of independence of Kosovo-Metohija.

In an interview to New Year's edition of daily Press, Kostunica said that Kosovo-Metohija can never be lost, except if Serbia decides to accept the creation of a puppet state in its territory.

A unilateral independence is an illegal act and that is why it cannot mean that Kosovo has been lost. In a way, unilateral independence also took place during the Second World War because the occupying forces took the province away from Serbia. But after that, the things again returned to their previous state in line with law and justice, Kostunica said.

The Serbian government's official website brings excerpts from the interview.

On which country, apart from Russia, can Serbia rely in the resolution of Kosovo issue?

Russia, who is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has a special responsibility for preserving international order, peace and stability. During the negotiating process, Serbia and Russia harmonised their joint principled policy based on respect for international law and biding international documents. I think that it is of greatest importance that Russia stated explicitly that any unilateral independence is an illegal act and that in that case, Russia recognises Serbia in its present, internationally recognised borders. A large number of countries will support Russia in this position.

What is Serbia's next step in case the US and some EU countries decide to recognise the province's independence?

The Resolution which Serbian parliament adopted with vast majority is very clear. Only as a whole, Serbia can conclude international agreements and those agreements must be in function of preservation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU that has been initialled contains a clear provision that the two sides concluding the Agreement must respect the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and Resolution 1244. Every Serbian citizen knows that these international documents guarantee inviolability of Serbia's borders and its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Serbia will surely respect these provisions in the Agreement and of course, we insist that the EU also respect its provisions because only that way the Agreement can be valid.

On Serbia’s progress outside the EU:

Serbia is an old European state and was a state a long time before many EU member countries today. By its geography it belongs to Europe, and we essentially were always and will always be a European state. Of course, Serbia has had special relations with Russia for centuries, which is also a European country, but it is more than that. We are all connected by European values.

How much can we rely on Russia, which is our strongest ally at the moment:

We can fully rely on Russia’s principled policy. No doubt, Serbia will know how to appreciate and remember Russia's support. Russia has seen that Serbia is forcefully committed to law and a just cause and this is why Russian support has become so strong. They told us amicably that they cannot be greater Serbs than the Serbs themselves, but they can and are willing to be with us in defending Kosovo shoulder to shoulder.

Participation of Russia in privatisation process of Serbian companies:

In July this year Russia made a historic decision for us to reject Ahtisaari’s plan in the UN Security Council. If the UN Security Council adopted this plan, Serbia would have been completely humiliated as the first state from which the UN took away part of its territory. It’s been almost six months since that historic decision, and merchants, as far as i know, would charge their services right away. I would say that assertions that Russia, by allegedly requesting concessions in the privatisation process of Serbian public companies was seeking payback for its support over Kosovo is just filthy propaganda that most probably originates from the very creators of the puppet formation that they would call independent Kosovo. On the other hand, most developed European countries are making big economic agreements with Russia every day. If the idea is to impose a mediator to Serbia in its economic cooperation with Russia, then it should be rejected most energetically. Serbia and Russia must cooperate directly providing common long-term economic interests, especially in the energy sector.

Protection of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija from the violence of Albanian extremists:

So much peril has already been done to Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija that the least violence would be too much and would require most urgent reaction and measures from the Security Council, that took on responsibility to provide peace and security in the province. Under Resolution 1244, Serbian forces are not present in Kosovo to directly protect from bullies, but that’s why Serbia is calling upon international community every day to fulfil its obligations and guarantees full safety to all citizens. All responsibility for the least incident is upon international community that has its clear duties under Resolution 1244.

What do you expect in 2008:

Fight for the well-being of Serbia.