"If we give in over Kosovo, others regions will follow"

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that if Serbia gave in to Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, the country's other regions could follow suit. "A unilateral declaration of independence is a dramatic precedent and unless you resolutely oppose it, or if you send a signal to the world that you are ready to give up a part of your territory for some imaginary and bright future, you are practically asking for it to happen again," Jeremic said appearing on B92 TV late on Sunday. "If we give in over Kosovo, others regions will follow" He noted there were ethnic tensions in Serbia and people who abused religious feelings, saying that if Serbia decided to give in and relinquish one part of its territory, "the pressures could then start for some other part of Serbia." Jeremic asserted that "Kosovo Albanians were unified when it comes to their own interests and efforts to make Kosovo independent, while cracks exist in Serbia's state and national interests, including its territorial integrity". "If we give in to Albanian separatists, this will not be the last unilateral declaration of independence in Serbia," the foreign minister said. The province's ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence more than three years ago, but the proclamation was rejected by Serbia. Vuk Jeremic (Tanjug) "Worst EU crisis" Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic estimated on Monday in Belgrade that if a kind of vacuum is created regarding the EU integration process of the Western Balkans, the void will be gradually filled by certain non-European elements in geopolitical sense. At a panel discussion on the future of Serbian diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jeremic said that the EU is facing the greatest crisis in its history, and that despite the fact that the crisis is economic, it may have political implications. “That implies a lack of appetite for further EU enlargement to the Western Balkan region,” added Jeremic, who is to discuss the region's integration process at the meeting of foreign ministers of the EU and Western Balkan countries in Luxembourg this afternoon. Jeremic reiterated that the priorities of Serbia's foreign policy remain EU integration, protection of territorial integrity, regional cooperation and economic diplomacy, as well as that the four pillars of the country's foreign policy are Brussels, Moscow, Beijing and Washington.

"If we give in over Kosovo, others regions will follow"

He noted there were ethnic tensions in Serbia and people who abused religious feelings, saying that if Serbia decided to give in and relinquish one part of its territory, "the pressures could then start for some other part of Serbia."

Jeremić asserted that "Kosovo Albanians were unified when it comes to their own interests and efforts to make Kosovo independent, while cracks exist in Serbia's state and national interests, including its territorial integrity".

"If we give in to Albanian separatists, this will not be the last unilateral declaration of independence in Serbia," the foreign minister said.

The province's ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence more than three years ago, but the proclamation was rejected by Serbia.

"Worst EU crisis"

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić estimated on Monday in Belgrade that if a kind of vacuum is created regarding the EU integration process of the Western Balkans, the void will be gradually filled by certain non-European elements in geopolitical sense.

At a panel discussion on the future of Serbian diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jeremić said that the EU is facing the greatest crisis in its history, and that despite the fact that the crisis is economic, it may have political implications.

“That implies a lack of appetite for further EU enlargement to the Western Balkan region,” added Jeremić, who is to discuss the region's integration process at the meeting of foreign ministers of the EU and Western Balkan countries in Luxembourg this afternoon.

Jeremić reiterated that the priorities of Serbia's foreign policy remain EU integration, protection of territorial integrity, regional cooperation and economic diplomacy, as well as that the four pillars of the country's foreign policy are Brussels, Moscow, Beijing and Washington.