http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=07&dd=05&nav_category=90&nav_id=42232
"Partition of Kosovo unacceptable”
5 July 2007 | 10:27 -> *11:54* | Source: B92, Beta
*VIENNA, WASHINGTON -- Vuk Jeremić said that Belgrade will not accept a
partition of Kosovo, as it is Serbian territory.
* The Foreign Minister met with his Austrian counterpart Ursula Plassnik
in Vienna yesterday.
He said that the international community and Contact Group had also made
a decision not to accept the partition of the province.
“Serbia is prepared to continue discussions and it is in the position
to, aprat from some some lines which cannot be crossed, be flexible and
to discuss all solutions, but we cannot discuss a partition because a
decision by the international community to divide Kosovo is simply not
on the table,” Jeremić told B92.
The Reuters agency stated, however, that most Western diplomats see
dividing Kosovo up as the best and possibly, the only solution for the
Kosovo status crisis.
Michael Emerson of the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels,
said that splitting Kosovo was possible, because the talks have remained
in a dead lock even after the weekend meeting of U.S. President George
Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Jeremić told Blic that Serbia was prepared to accept a continuation of
discussions and even a deadline for them to end, but only under the
condition that the talks are fair and not shadowed by predetermined
status solutions.
He said that even though putting a time limit on the discussions was not
the best option, it was much more important for them to be fair and
open, adding that the Serbian side was ready to compromise on the time
frame.
“We insist that the European Union clearly states that new negotiations
are needed and takes the position of leader in that case,” Jeremić said,
reacting to the recent statement from Brussels that the EU will take
over responsibility for the Kosovo status question if Russia continues
to reject all resolutions within the United Nations Security Council.
Kosovo comes in focus
Beta reports Thursday that the future status of Kosovo will be one of
the main topics of separate visits by top officials from Belgrade and
Priština to the European capitals during the next few days.
After visits to Slovakia and Austria, on July 5, Jeremić will meet
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeyer in Berlin, while
President Boris Tadić is to talk with top-ranking officials in Brussels
at the end of the week.
It was announced in Priština that Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu and
Democratic Party of Kosovo leader Hashim Thaci would have talks with the
German foreign minister in Berlin, on July 6.
Next week, Sejdiu and Kosovo Premier Agim Ceku will go to Brussels, at
the invitation of the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security
Policy Javier Solana.
Kosovo is also expected to be one of the chief topics at an
international congress dedicated to southern Europe, to be held in
Dubrovnik, on July 6 and 7, attended by NATO General Secretary Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer and Assistant U.S. State Secretary Daniel Fried.
Also among the announced participants are the prime ministers of
Croatia, Macedonia and Albania, of the countries expecting an invitation
for membership in NATO, as well as Kosovo Premier Agim Ceku, and
Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Gordana Đurović.
Srpska Informativna Mreza
[email protected]
http://www.antic.org/
