“No place for Kosovo among sovereign states”

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said late Friday that Albania had remained isolated after blocking a joint declaration at the regional summit in Belgrade. “With this document, Serbia has blocked Kosovo, and it will continue doing so in all the organizations that only sovereign states can enjoy membership of,” Jeremic told B92. “No place for Kosovo among sovereign states” “Albania was left alone. All the others agreed on the text. They (Albania) found the text unacceptable because Kosovo was not really treated as an equal member,” he noted, adding that “there will be no seats for Kosovo at places reserved for sovereign states as long as Serbia is present there.” Jeremic was asked to comment on recent claims by unnamed sources in his ministry that Miroslav Lajcak, when he had visited Serbia in his capacity as EU envoy after the elections - he had brought a serious message from Brussels demanding from Serbia to give up on its “both the EU and Kosovo” policy, to cut its ties with the Serbs in the north of the province and to dismantle the so-called parallel institutions. “It is not the first time ultimatums are coming to us here. It is necessary to receive them calmly and respond in accordance with our policy. I hope that the new government will not change its attitude when it comes to Kosovo and the EU,” explained the Serbian foreign minister. “As long as there is a democratic order in this country, the answer to (the demand for) a waiver of this policy will be 'no',” stressed Jeremic. Commenting on the situation of not having top senior officials of Croatia and part of Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency present at the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit, he said that Serbia had invited heads of state and ministers of foreign affairs of the 12 member states of the organization and every country had been free to decide at which level they would be represented. “Belgrade is an open city and Serbia was chosen to lead the UN. Our doors are open to all who want to come here,” he concluded. Vuk Jeremic (Tanjug, file) B92 Tanjug

“No place for Kosovo among sovereign states”

“Albania was left alone. All the others agreed on the text. They (Albania) found the text unacceptable because Kosovo was not really treated as an equal member,” he noted, adding that “there will be no seats for Kosovo at places reserved for sovereign states as long as Serbia is present there.”

Jeremić was asked to comment on recent claims by unnamed sources in his ministry that Miroslav Lajčak, when he had visited Serbia in his capacity as EU envoy after the elections - he had brought a serious message from Brussels demanding from Serbia to give up on its “both the EU and Kosovo” policy, to cut its ties with the Serbs in the north of the province and to dismantle the so-called parallel institutions.

“It is not the first time ultimatums are coming to us here. It is necessary to receive them calmly and respond in accordance with our policy. I hope that the new government will not change its attitude when it comes to Kosovo and the EU,” explained the Serbian foreign minister.

“As long as there is a democratic order in this country, the answer to (the demand for) a waiver of this policy will be 'no',” stressed Jeremić.

Commenting on the situation of not having top senior officials of Croatia and part of Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency present at the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit, he said that Serbia had invited heads of state and ministers of foreign affairs of the 12 member states of the organization and every country had been free to decide at which level they would be represented.

“Belgrade is an open city and Serbia was chosen to lead the UN. Our doors are open to all who want to come here,” he concluded.