Koštunica rejects latest Kosovo draft

Koštunica rejects latest Kosovo draft

“It is very important for the sake of future relations between Serbia and the U.S. that Washington realizes Belgrade will never agree to have a large portion of its territory seized.”

“If Serbia clearly points out that its essential state and national interest to preserve its territorial unity is in line with the UN Charter, it is only natural that all states wishing to maintain normal relations with Serbia respect this request,” the statement said.

“Any country that attempts to take Kosovo-Metohija from Serbia must be aware that our mutual relations will be worsened. The explanation which states that the attempt to seize Kosovo-Metohija is in fact an act of friendship towards Serbia is completely unacceptable,” Koštunica said.

“Such explanation is an insult to common sense, Kosovo-Metohija will remain an integral and unalienable part of Serbia because it is written in the UN Charter and the Serbian Constitution”, the Prime Minister’s written statement ends.

Latest draft: Limited talks, no automatic independence

A new Kosovo draft resolution will propose a limited period of negotiations without automatic independence, Beta reported earlier Wednesday.

According to the agency, the new draft, prepared by the U.S. and the European Union, would call for a continuation of talks between Belgrade and Priština, which would be limited to 120 days. 

The proposed resolution does not mention the immediate implementation of UN Kosovo envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan for an internationally-supervised independence of Kosovo if the talks fall through.

Beta, which has seen the draft, states that it says the Kosovo situation "should not represent a precedent within the United Nations Security Council."

That is explained by specific circumstances which make Kosovo a unique case, including the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, the violence and repression in Kosovo during 1999, the prolonged international administration of the province and the implementation of standards under the guidance of the UN.

The draft also mentions the UN Security Council's support for new 120-day talks and the possibility of reaching a compromise on the status issue.

Fried: Negotiations first, then supervised independence

The U.S. thinks that new 120-day-long negotiations between Belgrade and Priština need to be arranged, but that Kosovo also needs to receive supervised independence, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said in Belgrade Tuesday.

Fried said the negotiations would lead to Kosovo's independence "one way or another."

"I think that this should be called negotiations on the modalities of the final outcome," Fried said after meeting with Serbian officials.

"The position of my government that Kosovo will be independent is clear," Fried said, adding that this needed to be achieved in a peaceful and stable way, primarily to protect the Serb community and heritage in Kosovo.

He also announced that this week, the U.S. would boost its efforts at the U.N. Security Council to solve the Kosovo question and work on a draft resolution that should ensure new negotiations lasting 120 days.

He stressed that the purpose of his visit to Belgrade was not to debate or negotiate on Kosovo but to tell the leadership in Belgrade that the U.S., despite disagreeing over Kosovo with the Serbian authorities, desired relations with Serbia and that it supported the country on its journey to the EU.

Fried said that he did not agree with the statement that Serbia's EU admission fee was losing its territory, but that what happened in 1999 should be considered.

Fried announced that he would meet with Russian Ambassador in Belgrade Alexander Alexeyev on July 11, within meetings between Contact Group members.

President Boris Tadić, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić oppose independence for Kosovo and favor renewing negotiations.

"Serbia truly wants a compromise and a sustainable solution for Kosovo and Metohija that would be acceptable to both sides," Tadić said, stressing that Serbia opposed a unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence.

According to the statement, Koštunica said that future negotiations needed to be conducted under UN resolution 1244 and stressed that the Serbian authorities expected the U.S. to honor the UN Charter.