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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Definition of Kosovo status must be in the interest of Serbian people

Belgrade, 17 March 2005

Slobodan Samardzic, advisor to Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, spoke for today's edition of Vecernje Novosti daily about the recent meeting of top state officials at which the state strategy for future status of Kosovo-Metohija was discussed along with the continuation of negotiations of Belgrade and Pristina and further steps in the solution of the problem of Kosovo. The official web site of the Serbian government brings excerpts from the interview.

Slobodan Samardzic

The meeting of top state officials at which the state strategy for future status of Kosovo-Metohija was discussed:

- At this meeting, we confirmed that the province's status is formally regulated under the UN SC Resolution 1244 and its provision which guarantees the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia-Montenegro, which means that Kosovo-Metohija must remain part of the state union. That will be our starting point.

A smaller working group will be formed, consisting mainly of advisors. They will prepare draft proposals concerning the future status of Kosovo, which will then be examined, amended and discussed.

Possible deviations from the Serbian government's Plan for political solution to the situation in Kosovo-Metohija:

- There will be no deviations. The government's Plan will be the starting point for the negotiations because that text was made such that it can be adjusted to circumstances. Finally, we never thought that someone will accept 100 pages of the Plan without a single objection. We are aware that we are yet to fight for that Plan.

Negotiations on decentralisation:

- The question of decentralisation is closely related to that of Kosovo's status. We want to determine the position of Serbs before determining the status. That is why UNMIK and the Kosovo government are trying to exclude us from negotiations on the decentralisation and on the position of Serbs. We are not taking part in these talks because we do not want to, but because UNMIK is not letting us. And UNMIK's reason for doing so is because decentralisation is the crucial issue. UNMIK must not bow to the pressure of Albanians. It is afraid of their reaction and their threats of violence. The final status of Kosovo cannot be determined without Belgrade. We will not let Belgrade be marginalised and we will not accept their request that Belgrade be represented by Serbs whom we can only advise.

We are struggling so that the definition of the status is in the interest of Serbian people and that it does not disturb relations within the region. Believe me that that is not easy. The opinion in many international forums has changed and the talks on the future status do not entail talks on independence. Only persistent and well-defined diplomacy can bring Kosovo back to life.

Pace of further events:

- Following the evaluation of implementation of standards, which will happen in autumn, the negotiations on the province's status will begin. Our position towards those negotiations will depend on the level of fulfilment of standards, and their implementation has not yet begun. It is difficult to believe that a miracle will happen by autumn.