http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=07&dd=11&nav_category=90&nav_id=42356
Koštunica rejects latest Kosovo draft
11 July 2007 | 08:58 -> *15:19* | Source: B92, Beta
*NEW YORK, BELGRADE -- Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica said Serbia
decisively rejected a new draft resolution proposed by the U.S. and EU.
* “Kosovo-Metohija will not be independent and this fact cannot be
changed by U.S. officials and their daily announcements in which they
angle for the province’s independence,” the government said on its
website Wednesday, quoting from Koštunica's written statement.
“It is very important for the sake of future relations between Serbia
and the U.S. that Washington realizes Belgrade will never agree to have
a large portion of its territory seized.”
“If Serbia clearly points out that its essential state and national
interest to preserve its territorial unity is in line with the UN
Charter, it is only natural that all states wishing to maintain normal
relations with Serbia respect this request,” the statement said.
“Any country that attempts to take Kosovo-Metohija from Serbia must be
aware that our mutual relations will be worsened. The explanation which
states that the attempt to seize Kosovo-Metohija is in fact an act of
friendship towards Serbia is completely unacceptable,” Koštunica said.
“Such explanation is an insult to common sense, Kosovo-Metohija will
remain an integral and unalienable part of Serbia because it is written
in the US Charter and the Serbian Constitution”, the Prime Minister’s
written statement ends.
Latest draft: Limited talks, no automatic independence
A new Kosovo draft resolution will propose a limited period of
negotiations without automatic independence, Beta reported earlier
Wednesday.
According to the agency, the new draft, prepared by the U.S. and the
European Union, would call for a continuation of talks between Belgrade
and Priština, which would be limited to 120 days.
The proposed resolution does not mention the immediate implementation of
UN Kosovo envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan for an
internationally-supervised independence of Kosovo if the talks fall
through.
Beta, which has seen the draft, states that it says the Kosovo situation
"should not represent a precedent within the United Nations Security
Council."
That is explained by specific circumstances which make Kosovo a unique
case, including the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, the
violence and repression in Kosovo during 1999, the prolonged
international administration of the province and the implementation of
standards under the guidance of the UN.
The draft also mentions the UN Security Council's support for new
120-day talks and the possibility of reaching a compromise on the status
issue.
Fried: Negotiations first, then supervised independence
The U.S. thinks that new 120-day-long negotiations between Belgrade and
Priština need to be arranged, but that Kosovo also needs to receive
supervised independence, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried
said in Belgrade Tuesday.
Fried said the negotiations would lead to Kosovo's independence "one way
or another."
"I think that this should be called negotiations on the modalities of
the final outcome," Fried said after meeting with Serbian officials.
"The position of my government that Kosovo will be independent is
clear," Fried said, adding that this needed to be achieved in a peaceful
and stable way, primarily to protect the Serb community and heritage in
Kosovo.
He also announced that this week, the U.S. would boost its efforts at
the U.N. Security Council to solve the Kosovo question and work on a
draft resolution that should ensure new negotiations lasting 120 days.
He stressed that the purpose of his visit to Belgrade was not to debate
or negotiate on Kosovo but to tell the leadership in Belgrade that the
U.S., despite disagreeing over Kosovo with the Serbian authorities,
desired relations with Serbia and that it supported the country on its
journey to the EU.
Fried said that he did not agree with the statement that Serbia's EU
admission fee was losing its territory, but that what happened in 1999
should be considered.
Fried announced that he would meet with Russian Ambassador in Belgrade
Alexander Alexeyev on July 11, within meetings between Contact Group
members.
President Boris Tadić, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, and Foreign
Minister Vuk Jeremić oppose independence for Kosovo and favor renewing
negotiations.
"Serbia truly wants a compromise and a sustainable solution for Kosovo
and Metohija that would be acceptable to both sides," Tadić said,
stressing that Serbia opposed a unilateral declaration of Kosovo's
independence.
According to the statement, Koštunica said that future negotiations
needed to be conducted under UN resolution 1244 and stressed that the
Serbian authorities expected the U.S. to honor the UN Charter.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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