Serbia not giving up UNSCR 1244

Although speculation has been rife that "new negotiations between Serbian and Kosovo authorities" were in the works, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic this week repeated that Belgrade will accept only talks conducted publicly and within the framework of Resolution 1244 - which guarantees the country's territorial integrity.

Yesterday, media in Belgrade wrote about Washington's reported intention to ask for Belgrade's approval to cancel the resolution, and offer Serbia speedier EU accession in return.

All this comes in expectation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on Kosovo.

The court was asked by the UN General Assembly, at Serbia's initiative, to give its advisory opinion on whether the February 2008 ethnic Albanian unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo was in line with international law.

Officials in Belgrade and Pristina have confirmed that lately there was "increased pressure from the international community to normalize relations".

This, however, has not resulted in closer stances regarding new negotiations, and State Secretary in the Serbian Ministry for Kosovo Oliver Ivanovic said on Wednesday that it was unrealistic to expect any political negotiations to start with interim Kosovo authorities before the International Court of Justice issues its ruling.

"This would be followed by a very complex procedure of forwarding that ruling to the UN for consideration," Ivanovic told Tanjug.

He added that he does not know which UN body would consider the ICJ ruling - the General Assembly or the Security Council.

According to Ivanovic, no lasting solution can be found for Kosovo status before negotiations are held which would result in a mutually acceptable solution rather than one that would only satisfy Kosovo Albanians and a part of the international community.

The presence of Kosovo Albanians in regional forums on resolving some vital issues is important, he said, emphasizing that Serbia only insists that their attendance be in keeping with the Resolution 1244 and that UNMIK should be present, Ivanovic said.

"Even to solve technical issues, Resolution 1244 must not be violated or jeopardized. I think that, naturally, technical issues will be discussed on a technical level, but always and exclusively in UNMIK's presence," he was quoted as saying.

Commenting on the recent reports, former Serbian Ambassador to Washington Ivan Vujacic said he did not believe that Americans were planning to ask Belgrade to exchange Resolution 1244 for a quicker EU accession.

"Dialog will simply have to come in some form. I think a lot is expected from the Sarajevo summit, to break the ice and have everyone around the table, including Kosovo, and nobody is after a quick fix here, nor a radical one, and I think the U.S. least of all, in the sense in which there was talk about canceling the resolution," said he.