Tadić: EULEX compromise possible

President Boris Tadic says that a compromise could be reached over EULEX between Belgrade and Brussels. He said that the goal was to reach a compromise on the deployment of the EU mission in Kosovo, but one that the UN Security Council would approve as well. Tadic: EULEX compromise possible “We are working on that in all international forums, with the UN Security Council and the EU, with officials from Russia and the U.S., with everyone who is vitally important in the future of Kosovo and Serbia,” Tadic said in an interview with daily Vecernje Novosti. He said that EULEX’s arrival did not mean the end of Serbia’s presence in Kosovo, stating that the EU mission was acceptable to Belgrade under three conditions: that it was present in Kosovo with the approval of the UN Security Council, that the mission was neutral in status, and that the Ahtisaari Plan was not implemented. “Anyone who finds fault with these principles has a problem with logic. There are political parties that are trying to fool Serbian citizens and ‘guarantee’ that EULEX will implement independence in Kosovo. We are going to fight to make sure that does not happen,” Tadic said. The president added that Brussels had nothing against any of those principles, and that he had received assurances that EULEX would not be implementing the Ahtisaari Plan. Asked what was delaying the process of resolving the problem, Tadic said that a procedure existed, and that there was always resistance and pressure. He said that he had nothing against the U.S. participating in the mission, because the most important thing was that EULEX did its job in accordance with international law and did not infringe on Serbia’s integrity. He said that Serbia would never renounce Kosovo for the sake of European integration. Tadic said that Belgrade would continue its diplomatic offensive on Kosovo in the period prior to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) considering the legality of Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence. The president said that confirmation from the ICJ “will surely have a bearing on all the countries that have yet to make a decision on Kosovo’s independence, and are currently under pressure to recognize Kosovo.” “On the other hand, there are countries that have recognized Kosovo and who have told us that this could make them reconsider their decisions. But, that cannot be expected from the biggest countries in the world, because such a decision would bring the credibility of their policies and their international position into question,” Tadic said. He added that the vote at the UN General Assembly had been a great diplomatic victory for Serbia, but that one should not be fooled into thinking that it was something that would automatically stop Kosovo from gaining further recognitions. Boris Tadic (FoNet) Bogdanovic on EULEX Kosovo Minister Goran Bogdanovic has told Tanjug that the European Union mission (EULEX) is acceptable to Serbia only if it is approved internationally. “There are three principles under which the EULEX mission is acceptable: with the consent of the United Nations Security Council, to be status neutral, and not to implement Martti Ahtisaari's plan,” underlined Bogdanovic. The minister said that Serbia wanted to be constructive and aspired towards integration into the European Union, and it was trying to enable “the EU presence in Kosovo to be part of an internationally agreed presence.” He said that the authorities in Serbia were ready to negotiate the above three prerequisites without which EULEX was not possible, because all other ideas and activities in that direction would only push Serbia and the Kosovo Serbs further away from solving the current problems in the province. “With its orientation, the Serbian government is not abandoning its goals, but is, at the same time, pressing for the country's integration into the EU, which means creating conditions for economic consolidation and a better standard of living for its citizens, as well as the continued fight for the preservation of Kosovo within Serbia, and the protection of its territorial integrity and sovereignty,” said Bogdanovic.

Tadić: EULEX compromise possible

“We are working on that in all international forums, with the UN Security Council and the EU, with officials from Russia and the U.S., with everyone who is vitally important in the future of Kosovo and Serbia,” Tadić said in an interview with daily Večernje Novosti.

He said that EULEX’s arrival did not mean the end of Serbia’s presence in Kosovo, stating that the EU mission was acceptable to Belgrade under three conditions: that it was present in Kosovo with the approval of the UN Security Council, that the mission was neutral in status, and that the Ahtisaari Plan was not implemented.

“Anyone who finds fault with these principles has a problem with logic. There are political parties that are trying to fool Serbian citizens and ‘guarantee’ that EULEX will implement independence in Kosovo. We are going to fight to make sure that does not happen,” Tadić said.

The president added that Brussels had nothing against any of those principles, and that he had received assurances that EULEX would not be implementing the Ahtisaari Plan.

Asked what was delaying the process of resolving the problem, Tadić said that a procedure existed, and that there was always resistance and pressure.

He said that he had nothing against the U.S. participating in the mission, because the most important thing was that EULEX did its job in accordance with international law and did not infringe on Serbia’s integrity.

He said that Serbia would never renounce Kosovo for the sake of European integration.

Tadić said that Belgrade would continue its diplomatic offensive on Kosovo in the period prior to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) considering the legality of Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence.

The president said that confirmation from the ICJ “will surely have a bearing on all the countries that have yet to make a decision on Kosovo’s independence, and are currently under pressure to recognize Kosovo.”

“On the other hand, there are countries that have recognized Kosovo and who have told us that this could make them reconsider their decisions. But, that cannot be expected from the biggest countries in the world, because such a decision would bring the credibility of their policies and their international position into question,” Tadić said.

He added that the vote at the UN General Assembly had been a great diplomatic victory for Serbia, but that one should not be fooled into thinking that it was something that would automatically stop Kosovo from gaining further recognitions.

Bogdanović on EULEX

Kosovo Minister Goran Bogdanović has told Tanjug that the European Union mission (EULEX) is acceptable to Serbia only if it is approved internationally.

“There are three principles under which the EULEX mission is acceptable: with the consent of the United Nations Security Council, to be status neutral, and not to implement Martti Ahtisaari's plan,” underlined Bogdanović.

The minister said that Serbia wanted to be constructive and aspired towards integration into the European Union, and it was trying to enable “the EU presence in Kosovo to be part of an internationally agreed presence.”

He said that the authorities in Serbia were ready to negotiate the above three prerequisites without which EULEX was not possible, because all other ideas and activities in that direction would only push Serbia and the Kosovo Serbs further away from solving the current problems in the province.

“With its orientation, the Serbian government is not abandoning its goals, but is, at the same time, pressing for the country's integration into the EU, which means creating conditions for economic consolidation and a better standard of living for its citizens, as well as the continued fight for the preservation of Kosovo within Serbia, and the protection of its territorial integrity and sovereignty,” said Bogdanović.