Bogdanovic: Feith abusing double office

Feith, who also heads the International Civilian Office (ICO) in Pristina, said in Brussels on Tuesday that after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its opinion on the legality of the unilateral independence declaration, new recognitions would follow.

Bogdanovic said that statement, amounted to "speaking as a lobbyist in favor of Kosovo's independence".

"Feith's statements have to be viewed while keeping in mind an old problem, that of his double office. It is a fact that he has been abusing that double role in a most calculated way, so that one could never tell if he was speaking as an EU official or as the head of the International Civilian Office in Kosovo," Bogdanovic told Tanjug.

According to the minister, Feith is pressuring the ICJ by predicting that the court's decision will change nothing when it comes to Kosovo's status.

"There should be no illusions that the ICJ will be spared from far more serious political pressures than this Feith's attempt. However, I believe that the decision by the ICJ will be in accordance with international law and will not be negative for Serbia. Also, I am convinced that it will help start new negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina regarding Kosovo's status, because the current status suits no one," said Bogdanovic.

Bogdanovic also said that the security of Serbian monasteries in Kosovo cannot be left to those who have them destroyed or silently  watched their destruction.

In regard to the warning of the Raska-Prizren Eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church that KFOR intends to charge the Kosovo Police with the security of monasteries Budisavci and Gorioc, Bogdanovic told Tanjug that it is out of the question to leave the care about Serbian holy sites in the province to the interim Kosovo institutions.

In this regard we will fight on the diplomatic field, said Bogdanovic. He said it is good that the state of Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church synchronized their actions when it comes to the protection of the Serbian heritage in Kosovo.

On the occasion of announcement of withdrawal of international forces from the two Serbian monasteries, we have contacted KFOR, but we did not get any feedback, said Bogdanovic.