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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

ICJ will not legalise secession of Kosovo

Belgrade, 21 July 2010

Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic stated today that no matter how balanced it be, the advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague should not be expected to offer international legal support to the Kosovo Albanians for their act of secession.

Author: Tanjug

In an interview to Tanjug news agency before leaving for The Hague, Jeremic said that the ICJ will announce its advisory opinion on the legality of the secession of Kosovo tomorrow.

He emphasised that Serbia will not change its position regarding its non-recognition of the unilateral declaration of independence by the Serbian southern province, and will urge for a compromise to be found.

Our struggle for such a solution will probably be long and difficult, but we will not give up, Jeremic outlined.

The Minister expressed confidence that the opinion of the court will pave the way for Serbia to confirm the correctness of its policy at the UN General Assembly in autumn.

The only way to reach a compromise solution is through negotiation and I hope that most of those countries that will take part in a debate in New York will share our stance, highlighted the Minister.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs pointed out that at this moment a majority of UN member states support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia, but added that it will be difficult for Belgrade to make the adoption of a resolution possible in the UN General Assembly because many countries are being pressured to recognise Kosovo before that.

We will invest all our effort so as to prevent new countries recognising Kosovo and that in autumn this year Serbia’s resolution in the UN is adopted, he underlined.

This will be a very difficult but not impossible task. The most important thing is to maintain composure and continue with our persistent and well-conceived diplomatic engagement, illustrated the Minister.

Jeremic announced that a delegation from Belgrade, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, will present Serbia's point tomorrow at the Summit of the African Union in Uganda.

Asked whether the Serbian resolution at the UN General Assembly will result in confrontation with states that have recognised Kosovo's independence, including the United States and some of the most influential members of the EU, Jeremic affirmed that Serbia does not want any confrontation with anyone, not even those that decided to recognise the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

Commenting on speculation that Serbia’s diplomatic initiative over Kosovo could block its path towards the EU, Jeremic disclosed that there are obstacles in the process of EU enlargement for the Western Balkans that are of far more serious nature, and those obstacles are not related to Serbia.

Asked whether Serbia's resolution, if adopted by the UN General Assembly, would be binding for Pristina and those countries that recognised Kosovo's independence, Jeremic declared that we are witnessing a time in which nothing in international relations is binding any more.

However, it is a fact that the decisions of the General Assembly have political weight, he noted.

Commenting on media speculation that in the upcoming period Serbia could agree to some kind of division of Kosovo-Metohija, Jeremic clarified that at the moment we are focused on creating conditions for a new start of the negotiating process, and that, therefore, all speculation of this kind is counterproductive for the efforts that Belgrade is making.

Asked whether he fears that an escalation of violence in Kosovo-Metohija might happen and whether Belgrade can provide guarantees to the non-Albanian population in the southern province, Jeremic confirmed that Serbia will certainly not tolerate any unilateral and violent attempts to change the reality on the ground.

It is essential to preserve peace and stability in the territory of the Serbian southern province and that citizens are not taken in by any sort of provocation, concluded the Minister.