Tadić: Force is poor argument

Tadić: Force is poor argument

“Several days ago an international official claimed that the threat of renewed bloodshed was the strongest argument in favor of independence. I find this unacceptable since it only serves to foster the policy of violence which, hopefully, we have abandoned at the turn of the century,” Tadić said.

“Serbia cannot give up on its right to protect her interest and her people in Kosovo. If Serbia did that, it could not be considered to be a normal country. And this is where I see room for compromise,” Tadić said, and added the time had come to draw the line, discard historical misunderstandings and consider that the Albanians and the Serbs both have legitimate interests.

Tadić said the countries which offered support to UN special Kosovo envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s plan for the province’s supervised independence have miscalculated when they said that this solution would bring stability.

“This move could bring stability to the 1.5 million Albanians in Kosovo, but would at the same time rob 8 million Serbian citizens of it. There is no stability in the Balkans without a stable Serbia,” Tadić concluded.