Berlin receives official protest

Berlin receives official protest

The letter of protest states that Belgrade demanded clarification on whether Zobel’s observations reflected Berlin’s official position.

Serbia has, however, stopped short of demanding Zobel’s recall.

In the meantime, B92 has learnt from its sources at the Bundestag’s Foreign Relations Committee that Andreas Zobel will be summoned to Berlin to account for his statements.

The Committee’s deputy chairman Gert Weisskirchen told B92 that Ambassador Zobel made a reckless statement which did not mirror Germany’s state position.

Weisskirchen also said that “Belgrade reacted in a moderate and sensible manner,” adding that “the ball was now in the court of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs which had to point out to Zobel the irresponsible nature of his act.”

“It is clear that whatever a German ambassador says in his official speech and personal statements while he enjoys hospitality of a host country reflects the official standpoint of the German Government, and can be interpreted as such. However, in this case the German Government is not accountable for Ambassador Zobel’s ludicrous statement,” Weisskirchen said.

Weisskirchen also said that “Zobel had to convince the public that the current misunderstanding was isolated and unique, and apologize to the Serbian and German public for his display of irresponsibility.”

Weisskirchen added he could not predict German Foreign Ministry’s reaction in the matter, voicing hope that German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier would respect Belgrade’s reaction.

A German Foreign Ministry representative said earlier today that “the Ministry assumed the Serbian Government took notice of German Ambassador to Serbia Andreas Zobel’s statements to the press” adding she could not make any additional comments on the issue for the time being.

Andreas Zobel apologized Wednesday for making "possibly unclear remarks that Serbia’s resolute opposition to Kosovo’s independence might lead to destabilization of Vojvodina and southern Serbia".

“All my statements, whether true or misconstrued, could only be assigned to myself personally,” Zobel said, adding that his statements didn’t reflect the position of the state of Germany or the European Union