Serbia and UN officials at odds over situation in Kosovo
United Nations Security Council is set to once again tackle the fragile issue of Kosovo on January 16, with major powers divided as ever over the future of the province.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, January 08, 2008
This time, diplomats will review the latest report by UN chief Ban Ki-Moon and his special representative in Kosovo Joachim Ruecker, who warned that continued status quo in the province, seems to be unsustainable.
"Expectations in Kosovo remain high that a solution to Kosovo's future status must be found rapidly. As such, the status quo is not likely to be sustainable...Should the impasse continue, events on the ground could take on a momentum of their own, putting at serious risk the achievements and legacy of the United Nations in Kosovo," Ban said.
However, Belgrade reacted harshly to the regular quarterly report, saying that the latest document contains a number of false facts and plain wrong political assessments and immediately dispatched Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic to New York in order to distribute its 27 pages long response on the subject.
"This official response will certainly also be taken into account. I have delivered it to and it has been registered as an official Security Council document, so that the member countries will have both the secretary-general's report and Belgrade's answer as they prepare for the session," Jeremic said.
In addition, Serbian Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic described the Belgrade's paper as "a counter-report" written in order to provide the Security Council with information on several major issues, including the lack of progress on standards implementation, freedom of movement, security, and return of some 200,000 Serbian refugees.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General on Monday avoided answering to a series of questions considering the future status of Kosovo, including his support to Ahtisaari's plan and continued negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo Albanians.
"It's an ongoing process...I will have to see and evaluate the situation," Ban told a press conference in New York.
Ban's hesitation to debate the Kosovo issue came less than a week after his spokeswoman Michelle Montras said that Secretary General "still believes that Serbia and Kosovo Albanians could reach a compromise solution" to the status of volatile province.
"Secretary General believes that a solution outside the frameworks of the UN would have serious consequences to the international system," said Montras.
