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Serbia can join EU only with Kosovo-Metohija

Belgrade/Moscow, 28 February 2008

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said last night that Serbia can join the EU only with Kosovo-Metohija as its constituent part and that before any further talks on membership take place, it must be made clear which territory the EU will recognise as Serbia’s.

File photo of Vojislav Kostunica

Author: Tanjug

In a statement given in English to Russian television, Russia Today asked whether Serbia will join the EU, bearing in mind its insistence on territorial integrity and the position of the majority of EU members, Kostunica replied that territorial integrity is of utmost importance for Serbia.

The Kosovo issue does not only concern Serbia’s wholeness and its territorial integrity. It is a crucial part of Serbia, important for Serbian identity, and probably the best proof of that is the reaction of Serbs in Montenegro, Republika Srpska and all over the world – they protested against the dismemberment of Serbia and unilateral declaration of independence, noted the Prime Minister.

Serbia set its course towards the EU a long time ago, it overcame a number of obstacles and took some serious steps in that direction, recalled Kostunica and stressed that as for any further talks on EU membership, it must be made clear which territory the EU will recognise as Serbia’s.

For us, this territory is Serbia with Kosovo-Metohija as its constituent part, he said and pointed to two obstacles when it comes to talks with Brussels.

First – what is Serbia? For us, Serbia includes Kosovo and that stems from our Constitution. On the other hand, there is another problem with the EU, and that is the civil mission that might be sent to Kosovo, and thus once again violate Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, he said.

Kostunica added that Serbia cannot resign itself to the fact that it becomes the only EU member whose territorial integrity is not recognised.

Asked if there are chances that Serbia retains at least the northern part of Kosovo, which is mostly inhabited by Serbs, the Prime Minister replied that his approach to Kosovo is a principled one and implies that Serbia is not only defending Kosovo, but also the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty.

By contemplating one part of Kosovo alone, or any sort of division of Kosovo, Serbia will steer away from something that has been the basis of our approach from the very beginning, explained Kostunica and said that any division of the province contravenes Serbia’s territorial integrity.

He stressed that Serbia can never lose that which belongs to it and that as long as there are Serbs, Kosovo will be a part of Serbia, adding that the most efficient device or weapon in this struggle is legality and the insistence on territorial integrity.

He also specified that ambassadors, whom Serbia recalled from the countries that recognised Kosovo-Metohija independence, will remain in Serbia for consultations for some time.

According to him, the first wave of the recognition of Kosovo-Metohija has been stopped for the time being and some countries which advocated the acknowledgment of the province’s independence are now reconsidering their stances.

Asked whether Serbia thought of severing relations with countries that recognised Kosovo or imposing economic sanctions on the province, Kostunica answered that the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs drafted certain plans, and added that all diplomatic measures are at their disposal now. Therefore, they decided to recall the ambassadors.

We are weighing up other measures as well, but I do not wish to discuss that now, said Kostunica and added that economic cooperation will continue, and that Serbia is thinking of filing legal suits against countries that recognised the province’s independence.

Speaking about the recent visit by Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Belgrade, he stressed the importance of the visit for both Serbia and Russia, as well as their mutual relations.

It was an opportune visit. For two years Serbia and Russia have fought not only for the preservation of Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also for the protection of international norms and the founding principles of international law, starting with the UN Charter and Resolution 1244, said Kostunica.

It was important to review what we have done so far and decide what to do next, he said and added that the cooperation between Belgrade and Moscow has gained even more importance after February17, when international law was actually violated.

He recalled that Russia, China, India and some European countries, such as Spain, the Czech Republic, Greece and Cyprus, advocate respect for the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, guaranteeing sovereignty and territorial integrity, and asked why Serbia should be made an exception to that rule.

Medvedev’s visit was also important because of our economic cooperation, and Serbia welcomes Russian investments.

Investments in culture and education are also important and we would like to see Russian students in Serbia and vice versa, with our two governments granting them scholarships, concluded the Prime Minister.