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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Territorial integrity, EU integration remain Serbia’s priorities

Belgrade, 10 October 2008

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic stated today that the preservation of territorial integrity and EU accession are still Serbia’s foreign policy priorities, adding it cannot be allowed that they hamper each other at any point.

In an interview to the Tanjug news agency, Jeremic said that the adoption of Serbia’s initiative asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to assess the legality of Kosovo-Metohija’s unilaterally declared independence enables Serbia to transfer the issue from the diplomatic to the legal field.

The Minister stressed that Serbia will now direct its diplomatic resources to other national priorities, such as EU integration.

He underlined that Serbia’s EU integration has now become one of the key targets which the Serbian diplomacy will turn to, but stressed that this does not mean it will turn away from Kosovo-Metohija.

On the contrary, the fight for the preservation of territorial integrity and sovereignty remains one of our absolute priorities, he noted and added that now that the resolution has been adopted, Serbia can employ legal rather than diplomatic resources for these purposes.

As for diplomatic means, Jeremic said that he sent letters to officials of all states who have not recognised the province’s independence in order to brief them on the result of the vote at the General Assembly and ask them to remain abstained until the ICJ’s decision.

According to him, when it comes to Kosovo-Metohija, the Serbian diplomacy hopes to focus on talks with the UN regarding the reconfiguration of the international civilian presence in the southern province.

We now have the chance to dedicate more time to lobbying for our speedier EU integration, which is Serbia’s another foreign policy priority, said the Minister.

He noted that as for Serbia’s EU integration process, the situation remains unchanged since the last meeting of EU ministers and specified that 26 countries support Serbia’s current continuation down the road to full EU membership, whereas the Netherlands is against it.

We will do everything to create an agreeable atmosphere by end-year in which a consensus within the EU will be reached, which is necessary for continuing the EU integration process. We will do that the same way as the last spring when the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) was signed, added Jeremic.

The Minister expressed belief that it is possible to unfreeze the agreement before end-year, and stressed that Serbia will do its best in this respect.

Jeremic refuted the possibility that the adoption of Serbia’s resolution and the ICJ initiative for an opinion on the legality of the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo-Metohija, might in any way slow down Serbia’s EU integration.

According to him, the official Brussels policy is that the determination of the future Kosovo status, on which the opinions are divided in the EU, and Serbia’s EU accession are two separate processes.

Belgrade’s stance is the same. We will do everything we can to keep it like that, said Jeremic and added that it is in the interest of all sides that those two issues stay separate.

The Minister added that the team presenting Serbia before the ICJ will comprise eminent legal experts from both Serbia and abroad, the majority of which were a part of Serbia’s team when Serbia was accused of genocide by Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He also said that the adoption of the resolution at the UN General Assembly is Serbia’s great victory, as well as the victory of the principle that the UN has a crucial role regarding international law issues.

After the vote, many of the present members appreciated the fact that someone in the General Assembly finally addressed the UN on an important issue, since this body treats everybody equally.

Our way drew great attention because many countries adopted it in order to restore the struggle for international law in the General Assembly, stressed Jeremic and added that Serbia’s diplomatic struggle and the way it chose to fight will serve as the model for approaching this kind of issues in the future, since there is fear of secessionism in many parts of the world.

Jeremic said that Serbia’s tactics paved the way for solving secessionist problems all around the world in the future.

Therefore, we now occupy a very prominent position in the international community, which is affirmed by the fact that four-fifths of UN members were present at the voting, while usually only one half or even less are present, said the Minister.

According to him, the General Assembly hall was packed on this occasion and before the session there was fear that many countries will abstain from voting since some powerful countries opposed Serbia’s resolution.

The Minister said it was very difficult to vote against the resolution, since it was wisely prepared.

He said that the deciding factor was Serbia’s comprehensive approach to lobbying support and focus on international and regional organisations, such as the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League and the African Union.

Jeremic said that now that the resolution has been approved, those who have hesitated to recognise Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence will find it very difficult to explain reasons for making such a decision.

It is logical that those who have hesitated until now have in fact been waiting for a decision by the ICJ, he said and stressed that Serbia will now have much less understanding for countries that recognise Kosovo and will use tougher measures, similar to steps taken in the case of Montenegro, whose ambassador was recently expelled.

According to Jeremic, the fact that such a vast majority voted for the resolution shows that the larger part of the world has serious reservations regarding Kosovo’s declaration of independence which is why it will be hard to find arguments for new decisions to recognise Kosovo, apart from ascribing them to unprincipled pressure from abroad.

Serbia must take advantage of this moment in a diplomatic, foreign policy context in matters beyond the Kosovo issue, stressed Jeremic. He explained that the fact that the Serbian diplomatic offensive has caused global interest in the Kosovo issue should be used for establishing further relations with all countries.

He said that Serbian diplomats made contacts in nearly 180 countries, which must not be lost now, but used for support to initiatives such as membership in the Security Council, improvement of economic cooperation and similar.

Today, Serbia once again holds a high position in the international community, said the Minister and recalled that this is the first time since the breakup of the former Yugoslavia that the UN General Assembly has voted for a resolution proposed by Belgrade.

Jeremic said that during the upcoming weeks Serbia will intensify dialogue with the UN on the reconfiguration of the international civilian presence in Kosovo, adding that Serbia is not far from reaching an agreement with the UN.

Our stance is that we have nothing against the EU assuming a greater degree of responsibility than it did until now and we support EU activity in Serbia, including Kosovo, stressed the Minister, adding that Serbia is not against reconfiguration, but that it must be acceptable for Belgrade and explicitly approved through a Security Council decision.

He said that EU’s activities should not undermine Serbia’s territorial integrity and must be in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1244, as well as status-neutral.

According to Jeremic, if the Security Council makes a decision that includes all these parameters, Serbia will be ready to accept EU engagement in Kosovo.