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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Serbia continues diplomatic fight to prevent majority from recognising Kosovo

Belgrade, 21 March 2008

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic said today that countries which support the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo-Metohija are still exerting strong pressure on countries in the region and Islamic countries to recognise the so-called state of Kosovo.

In an interview for the news agency Tanjug, Jeremic stressed that some of Serbia’s neighbours did not manage to resist pressure and added that he talked with the foreign ministers of those three countries, and two of them admitted that unfortunately they were not able to oppose the pressure.

He said that it is regrettable that some countries in the region were forced to choose between Serbia and Kosovo, and the fact that these countries decided to do this at the same time is a precedent.

The Minister reiterated that Serbia has stated clearly that any country which decides to undermine Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty by recognising Kosovo will not be able to count on the same level of relations with Serbia.

Jeremic said that unfortunately this will damage regional cooperation and relations, but Serbia is not responsible for this, since it is acting in accordance with international law.

Because of these pressures, Serbia was not allowed to be an observer at the summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Senegal, said the Minister and stressed that despite that Serbia managed to succeed because no declaration was adopted at the summit to welcome the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, which Albania and Turkey were advocating.

We were extremely active regarding Islamic countries prior to the summit. There was a threat that a declaration might be adopted to recognise the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo on a pan-Islamic level, regardless of the fact that it is contrary to international law, explained Jeremic.

Being aware of that, we talked with representatives of a large number of major Islamic countries and presented our arguments to them, above all that Kosovo is not a religious but an ethnic and political issue, said the Minister and added that as a result of these efforts a bloc was formed at the summit which was firmly against independence.

He said that Serbia was quite successful in presenting its arguments and added that Serbian representatives talked with representatives of countries including Morocco, Egypt, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, who share our stance that independence was declared in a manner contrary to international law.

Jeremic explained that the conclusion of the summit was that there is no joint stance regarding the declaration of independence.

According to Jeremic, Serbia will continue to fight against recognition of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo at other international forums such as the African Union, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Arab League, which is to meet in Damascus at the end of March.

The Minister recalled that he visited Libya, one of the most influential countries in all these forums, where he received assurances from top officials that not only will Libya not recognise Kosovo’s independence, it will also make efforts so that international law is not violated by bilateral recognitions.

Speaking about countries which have recognised Kosovo, Jeremic said that recalling ambassadors for consultations is a strong enough signal that Serbia does not agree with the decision made by these countries, and it does not lead to self-isolation.

He explained that the first step, according to the Serbian government’s action plan is to recall ambassadors for consultations after handing over strong protest notes to the ministries of host countries.

Our action plan envisages other steps which could be taken in line with new situations which may arise, and which we will examine dynamically, said Jeremic.

According to Jeremic, Serbia must find a balance between sending a clear signal to countries which have recognised Kosovo and self-isolation.

The Minister stressed that recalling ambassadors does not lower diplomatic relations to the chargé d’affaires level, which would be the next step, but in the case that a situation develops which calls for more radical measures, Serbia will not hesitate to take such a step.

Speaking about the letters he sent to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and to Russian UN Ambassador and current Security Council President Vitaly Churkin concerning the violence in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica, Jeremic said that Serbia demands an independent investigation into what led to the orders to use disproportionate force.

We demanded an investigation by the UN Secretariat, the Minister said and expressed optimism that such an investigation will be launched soon.

He said he requested the chairman of the Security Council to continue monitoring the implementation of Resolution 1244 and therefore all aspects of the situation in the field in Kosovo, adding that he discussed this with Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Titov.

We will leave the format for considering this problem up to the Security Council and the chairman; whether there will be closed consultations, open consultations or a session. We have protested in a clear and resolute way over the exaggerated use of force in Kosovska Mitrovica on March 17. I think we can be optimistic that the Security Council will adequately consider the security situation following this incident, said Jeremic.

The Minister stressed that Belgrade will continue with diplomatic activities and explanations that international law was violated on February 17 and that there was an attempt of ethnically-motivated secession from an internationally recognised country, which is in not in accordance with the Security Council’s decision, the UN Charter or the Helsinki Final Act which is binding for all member states.

I think we have been successful in doing that as there are a small number of countries that recognised Kosovo, much smaller than we anticipated, Jeremic said.

He explained that Serbia’s strategy is to limit the number of countries recognising Kosovo and that the province does not become a member of key international organisations. Jeremic recalled that out of 192 UN members, only 33 so far have recognised an independent Kosovo, and stressed that Serbia will continue to fight with all diplomatic and political means to keep a majority within the UN so that independence of the so-called state of Kosovo is not affirmed.

The Minister announced that at the UN General Assembly in September Serbia will propose that the opinion of the International Court of Justice is sought as to whether the declaration of Kosovo independence was in accordance with international law.

From all talks I have had, I can conclude that a Serbian resolution requesting this can get majority support, Jeremic said.

If most UN members back this, they would demonstrate disagreement with an imposed solution, Jeremic said and expressed assurance that continuation of Serbia’s European integration will be one of key priorities for the next government of Serbia.

He pointed out that the government’s European course increases its capacity to fight for the country’s national interests, including preservation of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The closer EU membership is, the stronger Serbian arguments and capacities are, the Minister said.

He stressed that it is necessary that Serbia goes forward towards full EU membership, strengthening the country’s capacities, institutions, economy and in that way fight for its economic, state, political, security and any other interests.