Belgrade: EU mission cannot implement the Ahtisaari plan
Serbia has nothing against the presence of a European Union mission in Kosovo, but is against the sending of any mission it has not approved or without UN Security Council approval, Serbian President Boris Tadic said Monday.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, July 22, 2008
"If the EU is to have a mission in Kosovo in keeping with a UN SC procedure, it will not be a problem for Serbia, but that mission cannot implement (UN Envoy) Martti Ahtisaari's plan for Kosovo's independence, as no such decision was taken by the UN SC", Tadic said.
"No international mission can be deployed in Kosovo without Serbia's approval, any other approach would violate the fundamental principles of the international community", he said.
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic stated in Belgrade late on Monday that the way the Eulex mission had been conceived is unacceptable for Serbia.
"Such a decision may not be made for as long as the EU wants to implement Martti Ahtisaari's plan. If they want something else it may be a subject of talks with newly appointed UNMIK Chief Lamberto Zannier," said Jeremic.
Minister Jeremic argued that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon had overstepped his authority by deciding to reconfigure the international civil presence in Kosovo.
"It is out of the question to allow the future civil mission in Kosovo to have a mandate to implement Martti Ahtisaari's plan, because it is clearly a plan of separating Kosovo from Serbia," Jeremic underlined.
