Security Council session fails to make headway

The UN Security Council session on Kosovo last night ended without any new positions or conclusions. The Security Council’s big two of the U.S. and Russia, and the remaining members are still at loggerheads over the province’s future. Security Council session fails to make headway The key battleground is Russia’s view that a unilateral declaration of independence would be an illegal move, going against the UN Charter and Resolution 1244, and the West’s argument that failure to reach agreement within the UN would necessitate taking measures in other places – in this case, Brussels. The session, which lasted several hours and was initially announced as closed, turned “almost completely open“ as diplomats from all sides were constantly coming in and out of the hall, sharing their speeches and the details of the meeting where opinions had clashed with on the one side, the U.S. and the EU, and on the other, Russia and Serbia, not mention the Kosovo Albanians as “a side whose information is useful“ for shedding light on the situation on the ground, reports Tanjug. China’s ambassador to the UN, Wang Guangya, whose country has taken a back seat during the whole crisis in the UN, leaving the way open for verbal duels between the West and Russia, supported a resumption of the talks as the only way to a workable solution, asking the other countries “to define a completely new approach to the Kosovo crisis.“ Beta news agency reported that after the meeting, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said the UN Security Council did not draw any specific conclusions, concerning the future status of Kosovo. According to D'Alema, the prevailing position at the Wednesday meeting was that "the security of the population, human and minority rights, and social and economic development must be in the focus" of the Security Council's future activities concerning Kosovo. Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu told the Council that the only acceptable solutions to the status of the province were independence or the proposal by international mediator Martti Ahtisaari. After 15 months of negotiating on the future status of Kosovo, Sejdiu said, UN envoy Ahtisaari had concluded that it was impossible for Kosovo and Serbia to remain one state after the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia and the tragic events of the 1990s. The European Union and U.S. believe "the potential for negotiations" on Kosovo has been exhausted and that new talks on the future status of the province will bring nothing new, Belgian Ambassador to the UN Johan Verbeke said. The potential for a negotiated solution has been exhausted, it said in a joint announcement by the EU and U.S., which Verbeke read out to reporters after the UN Security Council's session on Kosovo. The U.S. and EU also believe the status quo in Kosovo to be untenable and that a move forward must be made with the solution. Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin said that talks on Kosovo should continue and that the UN must annual any possible unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence. "We believe that the talks can continue and that they can produce an outcome that would be acceptable to both sides, which would preserve stability in Kosovo and the Balkans," Churkin told the press. "Any move towards unilateral independence would clearly be outside the frame of international law and Resolution 1244," Churkin stressed and added that the UN should annul any such move. The UN Security Council (FoNet) Kostunica seeks continued negotiations In his address to the UN Security Council in New York Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica asked for the negotiations on the status of Kosovo to continue, and opposed the deployment of an EU mission in Kosovo without a decision from this UN body. "Serbia is fully justified and has every reason to firmly insist on the negotiations being continued. We believe the Security Council must not allow Resolution 1244 to implode. On the contrary, for the sake of peace and to preserve stability, the value of this resolution needs to be fully confirmed and new negotiations need to start, which will make sure that a compromise solution is reached," Kostunica told the UN Security Council. Speaking at a closed session in the Security Council on Kosovo, he assessed that the EU's decision to send its mission to implement, as he said, "the rejected Ahtisaari plan," would be an illegal decision, obviously contrary to Resolution 1244. "For this reason, it is the joint obligation of Serbia and the Security Council to find the right way to prevent the unilateral independence of Kosovo and Metohija, i.e. to prevent the announced violation of Resolution 1244 and the UN Charter," Kostunica pointed out. The Serbian prime minister said that Serbia, "as a free and sovereign country, will not accept any unilateral decision that circumvents the Security Council and violates Resolution 1244, which is in effect" and that, relying on the UN Charter and its own Constitution, it will "annul all unilateral acts."

Security Council session fails to make headway

The key battleground is Russia’s view that a unilateral declaration of independence would be an illegal move, going against the UN Charter and Resolution 1244, and the West’s argument that failure to reach agreement within the UN would necessitate taking measures in other places – in this case, Brussels.

The session, which lasted several hours and was initially announced as closed, turned “almost completely open“ as diplomats from all sides were constantly coming in and out of the hall, sharing their speeches and the details of the meeting where opinions had clashed with on the one side, the U.S. and the EU, and on the other, Russia and Serbia, not mention the Kosovo Albanians as “a side whose information is useful“ for shedding light on the situation on the ground, reports Tanjug.

China’s ambassador to the UN, Wang Guangya, whose country has taken a back seat during the whole crisis in the UN, leaving the way open for verbal duels between the West and Russia, supported a resumption of the talks as the only way to a workable solution, asking the other countries “to define a completely new approach to the Kosovo crisis.“

Beta news agency reported that after the meeting, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said the UN Security Council did not draw any specific conclusions, concerning the future status of Kosovo.

According to D'Alema, the prevailing position at the Wednesday meeting was that "the security of the population, human and minority rights, and social and economic development must be in the focus" of the Security Council's future activities concerning Kosovo.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu told the Council that the only acceptable solutions to the status of the province were independence or the proposal by international mediator Martti Ahtisaari.

After 15 months of negotiating on the future status of Kosovo, Sejdiu said, UN envoy Ahtisaari had concluded that it was impossible for Kosovo and Serbia to remain one state after the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia and the tragic events of the 1990s.

The European Union and U.S. believe "the potential for negotiations" on Kosovo has been exhausted and that new talks on the future status of the province will bring nothing new, Belgian Ambassador to the UN Johan Verbeke said.

The potential for a negotiated solution has been exhausted, it said in a joint announcement by the EU and U.S., which Verbeke read out to reporters after the UN Security Council's session on Kosovo.

The U.S. and EU also believe the status quo in Kosovo to be untenable and that a move forward must be made with the solution.

Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin said that talks on Kosovo should continue and that the UN must annual any possible unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence.

"We believe that the talks can continue and that they can produce an outcome that would be acceptable to both sides, which would preserve stability in Kosovo and the Balkans," Churkin told the press.

"Any move towards unilateral independence would clearly be outside the frame of international law and Resolution 1244," Churkin stressed and added that the UN should annul any such move.

Koštunica seeks continued negotiations

In his address to the UN Security Council in New York Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica asked for the negotiations on the status of Kosovo to continue, and opposed the deployment of an EU mission in Kosovo without a decision from this UN body.

"Serbia is fully justified and has every reason to firmly insist on the negotiations being continued. We believe the Security Council must not allow Resolution 1244 to implode. On the contrary, for the sake of peace and to preserve stability, the value of this resolution needs to be fully confirmed and new negotiations need to start, which will make sure that a compromise solution is reached," Koštunica told the UN Security Council.

Speaking at a closed session in the Security Council on Kosovo, he assessed that the EU's decision to send its mission to implement, as he said, "the rejected Ahtisaari plan," would be an illegal decision, obviously contrary to Resolution 1244.

"For this reason, it is the joint obligation of Serbia and the Security Council to find the right way to prevent the unilateral independence of Kosovo and Metohija, i.e. to prevent the announced violation of Resolution 1244 and the UN Charter," Koštunica pointed out.

The Serbian prime minister said that Serbia, "as a free and sovereign country, will not accept any unilateral decision that circumvents the Security Council and violates Resolution 1244, which is in effect" and that, relying on the UN Charter and its own Constitution, it will "annul all unilateral acts."