Same old rhetoric from Koštunica in Washington

Same old rhetoric from Koštunica in Washington

“Kosovo independence would bring instability to the region. It would take away 15 percent of a country’s territory, and that is possible only if democracy is completely disregarded.” Koštunica told reporters in Washington after meeting with Rice.

He said that the talks with Rice were very interesting and that US State Department officials he met with were informed in a very detailed manner about the Serbian proposal for essential autonomy in Kosovo.

“In my discussions, I tried to make sure that my colleagues, especially Ms. Rice, were well informed of our arguments supporting essential autonomy for Kosovo within Serbia, as a solution which offers stability, peace and a multi-ethnic Kosovo at this time.” Koštunica said.

Koštunica did not want to comment the fact that the US is not ruling out independence as one of the solutions for Kosovo. He said that the goal of these discussions was to make the Washington administration have a better understanding of what Belgrade’s Kosovo platform looks like.

The Serbian Prime Minister also met with US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns and Presidential Security Advisor Steven Handley. He said that Serbia’s arguments were listened to and that he did his best to convince everyone he met with that autonomy within Serbia is the best solution. He also stressed on every possible occasion that independence was not an option for Serbia.

“This other solution that is being talked about, Kosovo independence has all of the shortcomings that will not allow for a solution. It does not guarantee stability, it does not respect international laws, it imposes a solution and it can lead to instability and the violation of all basic democratic values.” Koštunica said.

Koštunica will meet with US Vice President Dick Cheney today to discuss US-Serbian bilateral relations and Kosovo. Tomorrow, the Serbian President will participate in a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York City, which will also be dedicated to the Kosovo question.

Koštunica’s visit to the US is the last stop on Serbia’s diplomatic tour of the Contact Group member countries with the goal of informing officials of Serbia’s Kosovo stances, proposals and platforms.

No risk of further conflicts

Serbian President Boris Tadić said that even though the Serbian administration is insisting that Kosovo cannot gain independence, it cannot be guaranteed that this solution will be ruled out.

He said that an imposed solution would represent a new “traumatisation” of Serbia, but said that even if the solution is not satisfactory for Serbia, there will be no risk of another armed conflict.

Tadić told RTS that the process of defining the agenda for the talks between Belgrade and Priština senior officials in Vienna is well underway. The meetings are tentatively scheduled for July 24. He said that it has also been confirmed that both he and Koštunica will be participating in the discussions.