Serbia believes that it is the
European Union, which is to play the leading role in the regulation of the
Balkan conflict
President of Serbia Boris Tadic arrived in Moscow
with an official visit. The Serbian leader discussed a wide range of
questions with Vladimir Putin: from the regulation of the Soviet debt to
the former Yugoslavia to bilateral relations between Russia and Serbia in
case the latter joins the European Union. The key subject
of the talks between the Serbian and the Russian president was devoted to
the situation in Kosovo and Russia's role in the regulation of Balkan
conflicts.
Serbia criticized Russia during and
after the NATO-led bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 claiming that Russia had
taken an indistinct and inactive position. "Russia's role in the
regulation of the conflict is immense. Russia is supposed to identify its
position clearly, in the UN Security Council, first and foremost," Boris
Tadic said at the press conference after the end of the official meeting
in the Kremlin.
Vladimir Putin strongly excluded the
use of double standards policy pertaining to the expulsion of 200,000
Serbs from Kosovo. "About 200,000 Serbs have to leave Kosovo now, but
everyone keeps silence about it," the president of Russia said. Putin
stressed out that Western officials referred to the exodus of 30,000
Albanians from Kosovo as a
humanitarian catastrophe. Putin assured his Serbian colleague that Russia
shared his opinion about Kosovo being the inseparable part of Serbia, even
if it enjoys the status of an autonomy.
Answering a question from
Pravda.Ru about the activities of The Hague Tribunal, Boris Tadic
said that responsibility for war crimes committed on the territory of the
former Yugoslavia should be placed on both Croatians, Muslim Bosnians and
Albanians, but not only Serbs alone. "We must cooperate with the Tribunal
in The Hague, but we demand the Tribunal should punish everyone for those
crimes. I was exasperated about the silence of the international community
in March of 2004, when Albanians slaughtered over 30 Serbs and burnt 35
Orthodox churches. Everyone guilty of the crimes must stand trial, we
insist on that. Serbs should be given an opportunity to live quietly in
Kosovo, and our temples should be recreated. This is our standpoint at the
talks regarding Kosovo's status," Tadic said.
The possible collapse of the Serbia-Montenegro federation
into two separate states is another important subject on agenda of the
talks. Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic has already presented the
"Treaty to transform the state community of Serbia and Montenegro into the
union of independent and internationally acknowledged states." The head of
Montenegro presented this document to the Serbian administration and the
president of the Serbia-Montenegro federation, Svetozar Marovic. In
addition, Montenegro will hold the referendum of independence in the
spring of 2006. The Serbian president expressed his protest against the
further disintegration in the Balkans.
Despite the long history of friendly
relations between Russia and Serbia, the latter believes that it is the
European Union, which is to play the leading role in the regulation of the
conflict. "We welcome Croatia's and Macedonia's membership in the
European Union. We believe that our existence within the framework of the
European Union will let us heal the wounds of the long-standing war a lot
faster," the president of Serbia said. Brussels should guarantee Serbia's
territorial integrity, Boris Tadic believes, otherwise disintegration will
take a grip on the whole of Europe.
While the Serbian president was
setting off for his official visits to Moscow, the Prime Minister of the
Czech Republic, Jiri Paroubek
visited the cities of Belgrade and Pristina with a special mission.
"Kosovo must have the European future," the head of the Czech government
said. Mr. Paroubek added that he could only welcome Belgrade's aspiration
to become a EU member. To crown it all, Czech ex-president Vaclav Havel
set out his wish to become an official mediator at the talks between the
government of Serbia and the administration of Kosovo Albanians.
Serbian journalists pointed out after
the end of Boris Tadic's press conference that the mission of the Czech
officials may eventually bring certain progress. The relations between
Serbia and the Czech Republic have always been positive since the 19th
century. Czech students ruined the press
conference of the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Brno,
protesting against the bombings of Serbia. The Serbian nation remembers
those and many other examples of Czech Republic's support to Serbia,
whereas the European Union is ready to use these warm memories in its
interests," a Serbian journalist told Pravda.Ru.
Both Russian and Serbian experts, who
accompanied the Serbian president in his visit to Russia, said that
Tadic's visit to Moscow had definitely strengthened Russia's
