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Goal of Serbia’s diplomacy to prevent Kosovo from acquiring international, legal legitimacy

Belgrade, 26 February 2008

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic stated today that Serbia’s diplomacy has set its goal and that is to prevent the unilateral proclamation of independence by Kosovo-Metohija from getting international legal legitimacy.

File photo of Vuk Jeremic

Author: Tanjug

In an interview for today’s edition of the daily Vecernje Novosti, Jeremic said Serbia will strive to have as few UN members as possible recognise Kosovo as an independent state, as well as to prevent the province from acquiring full membership in international organisations, as this would be a confirmation of its sovereignty.

We will insist that without Serbia’s consent the status of the southern Serbian province cannot be fully legitimate. Once everyone understands that, and Kosovo remains somewhere in between, that is, in an international legal vacuum when it comes to its sovereignty, we will strive to convince others that the two sides must sit down again and negotiate.

The Serbian government’s official web site gives excerpts from the interview.

If fewer than half the UN members recognise Kosovo, what would that mean in international relations?

If Kosovo-Metohija is recognised by fewer than half the UN members, that would be a considerable political and psychological barrier. However, the only international legal test of a state’s sovereignty is whether the country is a UN member, and for European countries, whether it is an OSCE member. For UN membership, a country must have a Security Council recommendation which I doubt Pristina will get. Serbia is an OSCE member and can veto Kosovo’s demand for accession. Apart from this, we have a strategy to prevent Kosovo from becoming a full member in dozens of other international organisations. We have a well-worked out plan of activities, therefore in September, at the UN General Assembly, we will see whether the majority of countries are in favour of Kosovo’s recognition or not. We will then assess the success of our diplomatic efforts.

What about the announcements that Tirana might represent Kosovo in international organisations?

That is ridiculous. Something like that cannot happen at international forums because their statutes do not allow that.

Will the government file charges with the International Court of Justice against countries that recognised Kosovo-Metohija?

Our first step will be to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its official stance on whether the declaration of independence by Kosovo is in accordance with the law. Since only the Security Council or the UN General Assembly can do that, Serbia will lead its major battle in the UN General Assembly in order to bring round the majority and convince them to start with that initiative. Months and months of lobbying are ahead of us and I am certain that the majority of countries will be ready to endorse Serbia’s demand. We are deeply convinced that the ICJ will conclude that Kosovo declared independence contrary to international law.

Republika Srpska adopted a declaration which entitles it to hold a referendum on independence if the majority of UN and EU members support Kosovo independence:

Serbia’s stance is that Pristina’s decision is illegal as it violates the guaranteed sovereignty and territorial integrity of recognised states. As long as this is the centre of our legal and political argument, we cannot question the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states. If it turns out that the UN Charter is no longer valid and some other law comes into force, the Serbian government will reconsider its policy on the issue. However, I believe that the outcome of our battle for the preservation of international law will confirm that Pristina’s act was illegal.

Serbia recalled ambassadors from countries that recognised Kosovo. How long will their consultations last?

Until further notice. We are monitoring the situation and we will decide if the measures should be even stricter. The next step would be to make the recall permanent, that is, to permanently lower the level of diplomatic relations.

One of the measures of diplomatic practice is to deny an audience to officials from countries with which the problem arose:

Such measures have already been invoked, and are applied primarily by ministers.

Is Belgrade’s decision to not sever relations with countries that recognised Kosovo a definitive one?

We must focus our actions towards one goal – a return to status negotiations. I am convinced that the full severing of relations would have a negative effect and cause more damage, rather than be beneficial to us. It is crucial that we do not take a step the consequence of which might harm our national interest.

The continuation of talks between Serbia and the EU:

Having recognised Kosovo, a number of EU members decided to violate Serbia’s sovereignty. We had no choice but to react to that with diplomatic measures and our relations with those countries our now weaker. Today we are further away from EU membership than a week ago.

Compensation for the damage to embassies following the protest:

According to the Vienna Convention, which we adhere to and which is one of the most important acts of international law to which we refer in our defence of the sovereignty and territorial integrity, we are responsible for the protection of diplomatic missions in our country and must compensate all the damage to embassies.

Is there intensified communication with China who, like Russia, endorses Serbia’s stance in the UN Security Council?

Naturally, and not only with Russia and China, but with all key international factors who do not want to take part in the violation of international law.