Serbia takes its case to bitterly divided Security Council

Serbian President Boris Tadic on Monday told the UN Security Council that Belgrade would never recognize the secession of Kosovo, as the bitterly split world’s top body once again proved powerless to reach any kind of agreement on the decade-long crisis.

(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Tadic urged the 15-member body to immediately annul Kosovo Albanian's declaration of independence, saying that international recognition of province's statehood presents a dangerous precedent for international law and treacherous challenge to Balkans' fragile stability.

"The lasting peace and stability in the region could on be achieved through negotiations and compromise solution, because only peaceful and stable Balkans can bring prosperity for all its citizens," Tadic told the council. "The Republic of Serbia will not resort to force. On the other hand, this arbitrary decision represents a precedent, which will cause irreparable damage to the international order."

However, the debate has shown the council's impotence to deal with Kosovo issue, with seven Western nations standing firmly behind the controversial interpretation of key Resolution 1244 which ended the 78-days-long air war against Serbia in 1999 and suspended Belgrade's rule over the volatile province.

In addition, UN chief Ban Ki-moon dodged key issues once again, bending to the pressures of both sides involved in long-lasting debate in New York - Russian which called for firm implementation of the UN Charter and Resolution 1244 and Western that advocated recognition on "new reality" and Kosovo's secession from Serbia.

The developments in the past 24 hours "will have great operational implications for UNMIK", which will continue its mission in accordance to the situation, Ban said, calling both Belgrade and Pristina to sustain from statements which could ignite fresh tensions and violence.

"Kosovo would continue to be run by the United Nations until a transition can be achieved," Ban said, adding that he would "consider an enhanced role" for the EU as part of the existing U.N. mission.

Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia, Libya, Vietnam and Burkina Faso have all strongly backed the Serbian calls for more talks with ethnic Albanian leaders on the future status of Kosovo, as their ambassadors warned the international community of risky precedents and possible repercussions on the world order.

Moscow's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin warned the European Union not to launch the 2,000-strong mission to Kosovo, dubbed EULEX, without a prior consent of the Security Council, urging Ban and his special envoy in Kosovo Joachim Ruecker to immediately annul the Sunday's declaration of independence, in accordance to the Resolution 1244 and province's Constitutional Framework.

But, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said that Kosovo issue no longer lies in the hands of 15-member body, urging the international community to help both Belgrade and Pristina on their path towards the European integrations.

"The new reality is irreversible. Kosovo is an independent, sovereign state," Khalilzad said.

Khalilzad, as well as other Western ambassadors blamed former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic for creating circumstances which prevented the possibility of Kosovo's return under Belgrade's rule - the notion which was immediately rejected by Serbian President as "biased and unhelpful."

"I shall be frank with you: this is a situation in which a peace-loving country, in which a proud and European people lives, is being snatched of a part of its identity, tradition and history. This act annuls international law, tramples upon justice and enthrones injustice," Tadic said.

Churkin, backed by his Chinese colleague Wang Guangya, said that "illegal acts of Kosovo Albanian leadership and of those who support them set a dangerous precedent".