Jeremic: Council of Europe must remain status-neutral on Kosovo
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has called on the Council of Europe (CoE) "to maintain the consistency of its status-neutral approach to Kosovo."
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Jeremic said that this would allow the case under way before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) "to run its course, free of political interference."
Taking part in the 119th session of the CoE Committee of Ministers in Madrid, the minister said this status-neutral approach to Kosovo was the basis of UNSC resolution 1244".
Speaking about the work of the CoE, he said that "status-neutral initiatives that help to consolidate human rights standards remain fundamental, including those to rebuild Serbian heritage destroyed during the terrible pogroms of March 2004."
"Such non-controversial projects preserve our organization's unity, and help to reduce tensions on the ground. And they help build the momentum for the achievement of the ultimate goal: a historical compromise between Serbs and Albanians," Jeremic said.
"Last year's unilateral declaration of independence by the ethnic Albanian authorities of Serbia's southern province of Kosovo constitutes a challenge to stability in the Western Balkans," the minister said, though stressing that "from the very start, Serbia sought to counter the UDI in a peaceful manner-by turning to law and diplomacy."
