Belgrade warns London against recognition of unilateral independence
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said in London on Monday that its potential decision to acknowledge a unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence and approve a forced division of Serbia would destroy Serbian people’s faith in democracy and its values.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, November 20, 2007
"That would be quite a blow, one we would not recover from easily," Jeremic said in a speech before the House of Commons.
He urged British MPs to aid Serbia in reaching a compromise solution that would preserve the country's sovereignty, and give the Kosovo Albanians a real chance to manage their own affairs.
"We are offering a unique partnership under one, sovereign roof - institutionally unlimited autonomy with extremely wide self-government authorities, but a kind of autonomy that will also preserve our sovereignty and territorial integrity," the foreign minister stressed.
Jeremic warned that claims of Kosovo's independence being imposed unless and agreement was reached by Dec. 10 had led to a halt in negotiations, because setting such rigid deadlines favored the interests of just one side in the process - the Kosovo Albanians.
"The way out of this crisis is to look at December 10 as a deadline for assessing progress and nothing more," Jeremic said.
