Kostunica: Kosovo solution cannot be imposed on Serbia
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica warned on Tuesday that "the misconception of a part of the international community that a solution for Kosovo can be imposed on Serbia is dangerous."
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, September 26, 2007
"That misconception is dangerous, as well as the idea that Serbia will ever acknowledge the existence of an independent state of Kosovo on its territory, contrary to the UN Charter and Serbian Constitution," Kostunica said in a statement.
Kostunica will along with President Boris Tadic lead the Belgrade team in the direct status talks with the Pristina delegation, due to be held in New York on Sept. 28.
The prime minister also said that "the most important thing now is that all who approach the future status of the province responsibly have in mind that unilateral independence can neither be implemented nor maintained."
"In New York, all three sides - especially the international community - must take on a clear obligation of supporting only a compromise solution and not reaching for unilateral solutions. Such an agreement would open the way for achieving a compromise solution, which would guarantee long-term stability, peace and prosperity of both the Albanian minority in the province and Serbia," Kostunica said.
Serbian Minister of Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic said on Tuesday that Belgrade's position in the status talks was better than before, but added that the danger of the province's potential declaration of independence and its recognition by the U.S. and certain European countries still remained.
Samardzic, who will be in Belgrade's delegation in New York, pointed out that during the negotiations Belgrade would aim to attract as much attention as possible for its draft compromise solution, which "ensures stability and peace in the region and prevents further disintegration.
The minister went on to say that the U.S. was making a "clear and open" stand and was not doing anything to convince the Albanians to negotiate, despite the U.S.' influence on them, which was why "the Albanians are not expected to approach the talks in a responsible manner."
He underscored that Russia's stand was clearly defined, while the EU was still undecided.
"The EU lacks a single stand. We have three groups of states - one that is explicitly against independence, one that is neutral but with a slight turn toward criticizing independence, and one that fully supports independence," Samardzic said.
