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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

International civilian presence in Kosovo only within framework of Serbian state policy

Belgrade, 18 June 2008

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic said today that Serbia is ready to continue dialogue with the UN on the international civilian presence in Kosovo, but without crossing the red lines of Serbia’s state policy.

File photo of Vuk Jeremic

Author: Tanjug

In an interview to the Tanjug news agency given on the eve of a UN Security Council session that will be held on June 20, Jeremic said that Serbia accepts EU’s presence in Kosovo, but on condition that it is approved by the Security Council and that its mandate does not include implementation of Martti Ahtisaari’s plan.

We want an international civilian presence in Kosovo-Metohija with maximum capacity in the field to do its job in line with Resolution 1244, but we do not see any legal or politically acceptable way to change the current structures in Kosovo-Metohija without prior approval by the Security Council, the minister explained.

He said that since EU integration is a strategic goal of the entire western Balkans, the EU should have an important role in eliminating the most important obstacles in the region on its path to European integration.

The Security Council is the only authority that has a mandate to decide on an international civilian presence anywhere in the world, including that of the EU in Kosovo-Metohija, Jeremic said and added that this is the position which Serbian President Boris Tadic will present at the upcoming Security Council session.

The Minister expressed hope that the result of the discussion in the Security Council will be such that no room is left for any other way to reconfigure the structure of the international civilian presence in the province, but by a Security Council resolution, following an agreement made between all interested parties.

Asked in what form the EU mission would be acceptable to Serbia, Jeremic said that Serbia will not accept a mission whose mandate would be the implementation of Ahtisaari’s plan, which was never approved by the Security Council because of the opposition of Serbia and Russia.

That however does not mean that Serbia is not ready to discuss everything inside the UN with all interested parties, including the future composition of the international presence in Kosovo that would help stabilise the situation in the field, but would not cross the clear red lines of Serbia’s state policy on Kosovo, Jeremic said.

Asked whether a new wave of recognition of Kosovo’s independence will follow after the Kosovo constitution coming into force, the minister said that that pressure grows together with the level of unease among those who support that independence.

The fact is that Kosovo’s independence was recognised by a relatively small number of countries. It is possible that adoption of the Kosovo constitution might be used and presented as something important, so some countries may try to use that as one more argument in favour of Kosovo’s independence, Jeremic said.

According to him, Serbia will continue to use its diplomatic, political and legal resources to keep the number of those countries to a minimum.

Also, Serbia intends, through its diplomatic activities, to block Kosovo-Metohija’s entry into international institutions and organisations whose members can be sovereign states only.

The minister recalled that Kosovo has so far attempted to enter dozens of organisations, both regional and international, but that Serbia has prevented that in line with the statutes of those organisations.

Kosovo has not acquired membership in any international organisation until now. Pristina’s biggest success would of course be UN or OSCE membership, but they haven’t attempted that since the statute of these organisations clearly makes it impossible, added Jeremic.

Speaking about Serbia’s expectation that new negotiations on the status of Kosovo should begin, he reiterated that there is no alternative but to continue the diplomatic, legal and political struggle to return to the process leading to compromise.

Speaking about the possibility that recognition of Kosovo might be set as a condition for Serbia to acquire EU membership, Jeremic said once again that Serbia will not agree to any kind of conditions regarding its southern province.

Determination in the fight against Kosovo’s independence does not prevent us from continuing the process of EU integration since many EU states have not done that. When Serbia joins the EU, it will be just another member country that has not recognised Kosovo’s independence, said the Minister.

He mentioned the fact that Serbia with its principled struggle to safeguard its territorial integrity and sovereignty, has managed to gain advantage in some other areas, while successfully defending Kosovo, and therefore is now in the midst of global interest.

According to Jeremic, following Serbia’s agile diplomacy on all five continents, the majority of countries now know where our country is, they know about the Kosovo issue and this opens up certain possibilities which could be useful in various ways.

Serbia has gained a level of international recognition during the past few years which is different and I think that this can be used now in a different way – to attract investments and open up new corridors for cultural and other kinds of cooperation, said Jeremic.

The Foreign Minister also said that during its intercontinental lobbying on the Kosovo issue, Serbia renewed some old friendships with countries with which it once had excellent relations.