"Neutrality, another term for independence"

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said today that the neutral status proposal for Kosovo was unacceptable. The Contact Group Troika's EU representative Wolfgang Ischinger's idea was only another term for independence, Kostunica said. "Neutrality, another term for independence" "The answer to the question, will Serbia accept to have a new Albanian state established in its territory, under whichever name, ought to be well known to everyone." "It is quite certain that the road toward compromise cannot lead via thinking up new names for the province's independence," the prime minister said in statement carried by Beta news agency. He added the time was right for the international mediators to submit a proposal that will respect Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stop putting forward proposals that envisage Kosovo's independence. "First there was supervised, then limited independence, then confederation, various two-Germanys models, and now the neutral status." "Now is the time for the international mediators to show impartiality and suggest a form of essential autonomy. We will help them out with this in Brussels, by demonstrating how similar models successfully function elsewhere in the world," Kostunica said. He added that should the result of the talks be known in advance, and should it be that Kosovo will be independent, "one way or another", then Serbia's answer to that is "also known in advance." "This is a crude policy of force that will not bring any good to anyone. But it will not make Serbia give up 15 percent of its territory either," the prime minister concluded. Yesterday, Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic and the government's press office head, Srdjan Djuric, both from Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), also dismissed the neutral status idea. "We refused a discussion on the neutral status. First of all, it is not clear what this means," Samardzic told reporters in Belgrade. "The Serbian government rejects in advance the proposal on the neutral status of Serbia's southern province," Djuric told Tanjug. "This proposal actually means that Serbia itself will create an independent Albanian state in its territory. The other important feature of Ischinger's proposal is that it is essentially the same as the Albanian platform on good neighborly relations between the two independent states," he said. Djuric added that "Ischinger's proposal on the neutral status of Kosovo-Metohija is based on the example of the agreement between two independent German states of 1972." "For more than obvious reasons, Serbia rejects this proposal in advance. We believe it is especially important that [Russian representative in the mediating Troika] Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko clearly said that this was not the Troika's proposal," he explained. But Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, of President Boris Tadic's Democratic Party (DS) said today he would not comment on the idea as he was "not acquainted with it." Ischinger said on Wednesday that the Troika would present to Belgrade and Pristina a new proposal for a neutral status of Kosovo. "The agreement on neutral status will be offered to both sides to create relations regardless of the decision that might be taken today or tomorrow on the status of Kosovo." "Today there are no relations between Serbia and Kosovo, because Kosovo is under UN administration, while Serbia considers it to be part of its territory. There is not even an attempt to establish cooperation between them," Ischinger told journalists in Washington. Vojislav Kostunica (FoNet)

"Neutrality, another term for independence"

"The answer to the question, will Serbia accept to have a new Albanian state established in its territory, under whichever name, ought to be well known to everyone."

"It is quite certain that the road toward compromise cannot lead via thinking up new names for the province's independence," the prime minister said in statement carried by Beta news agency.

He added the time was right for the international mediators to submit a proposal that will respect Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and stop putting forward proposals that envisage Kosovo's independence.

"First there was supervised, then limited independence, then confederation, various two-Germanys models, and now the neutral status."

"Now is the time for the international mediators to show impartiality and suggest a form of essential autonomy. We will help them out with this in Brussels, by demonstrating how similar models successfully function elsewhere in the world," Koštunica said.

He added that should the result of the talks be known in advance, and should it be that Kosovo will be independent, "one way or another", then Serbia's answer to that is "also known in advance."

"This is a crude policy of force that will not bring any good to anyone. But it will not make Serbia give up 15 percent of its territory either," the prime minister concluded.

Yesterday, Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardžić and the government's press office head, Srđan Đurić, both from Koštunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), also dismissed the neutral status idea.

"We refused a discussion on the neutral status. First of all, it is not clear what this means," Samardžić told reporters in Belgrade.

"The Serbian government rejects in advance the proposal on the neutral status of Serbia's southern province," Đurić told Tanjug.

"This proposal actually means that Serbia itself will create an independent Albanian state in its territory. The other important feature of Ischinger's proposal is that it is essentially the same as the Albanian platform on good neighborly relations between the two independent states," he said.

Đurić added that "Ischinger's proposal on the neutral status of Kosovo-Metohija is based on the example of the agreement between two independent German states of 1972."

"For more than obvious reasons, Serbia rejects this proposal in advance. We believe it is especially important that [Russian representative in the mediating Troika] Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko clearly said that this was not the Troika's proposal," he explained.

But Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić, of President Boris Tadić's Democratic Party (DS) said today he would not comment on the idea as he was "not acquainted with it."

Ischinger said on Wednesday that the Troika would present to Belgrade and Priština a new proposal for a neutral status of Kosovo.

"The agreement on neutral status will be offered to both sides to create relations regardless of the decision that might be taken today or tomorrow on the status of Kosovo."

"Today there are no relations between Serbia and Kosovo, because Kosovo is under UN administration, while Serbia considers it to be part of its territory. There is not even an attempt to establish cooperation between them," Ischinger told journalists in Washington.