Brazil and Bolivia: Kosovo's UDI contrary to international law

"The Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Kosovo sets aside two of the most precious imperatives of the current international order: the authority of the Security Council of the United Nations, according to the Charter of the United Nations, and the principle of territorial integrity", said Brazil's representative Jose Artur Denot Medeiros.

"The purpose of international law is to furnish legal certainty to the international community, and serve as its instrument to secure legitimate rights. This purpose would be neglected should the international community allow such disregard of those universally accepted imperatives. In view of that, it is the opinion of the Brazilian Government that the Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Kosovo is not in accordance with international law", he said.

Bolivia's representative Roberto Calzadilla Sarmiento said that "the Plurinational State of Bolivia would like to express that resolution 1244 of the Security Council established the legal and political parameters for the solution of the situation of Kosovo in Serbia, guaranteeing the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Serbia (former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) constituting the legal and political basis to deal with the question of the status of Kosovo with recognized authority by the international community".

"The principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity is one of the fundamentals of the United Nations Charter widely accepted and respected by the international community, being the principle which rules all State actions ... In this context, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Kosovo, in the opinion of various Sates and of Bolivia, contravenes the declaration on the principles of international law related to the Friendly Relations and Co-operation between States, resolution 2625 of 24 October 1970", Samiento said.

On the other side, the Bulgarian representative Zlatko Dimitroff said that "The 20 March 2008 decision of the Bulgarian Government to recognize the Republic of Kosovo was in conformity with the aspirations of the Republic of Bulgaria in favour of the maintenance of stability and the security environment in the Western Balkans, in order to prevent tensions from escalating in and around Kosovo".

"Our understanding was and remains that, by the end of 2007, blocking the resolution of the status of Kosovo would have led to a stalemate with severe consequences, including for the countries like Bulgaria in close proximity to Kosovo. The status quo at that particular moment could not be kept any longer, for it was becoming a burden for the development of both Kosovo and Serbia, as well as for the progress of the region as a whole", Dimitroff said.