Kosovo's future on UN agenda tomorrow

BELGRADE, NEW YORK UN Security Council session dedicated to Martti Ahtisaari’s plan for the final status of Kosovo is due to begin Tuesday. The UN special Kosovo envoy proposed internationally supervised independence for the province. Kosovo's future on UN agenda tomorrow Ahead of his journey to New York Sunday, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said "it was quite clear Ahtisaari’s plan would fail to pass the UN Security Council, for it was an illegitimate and illegal document set to dismember Serbia.” Kostunica believes the rejection of Ahtisaari’s plan would lead to fresh negotiations, mediated by a new UN envoy, so as to reach a compromise in line with the UN Charter and the Serbian Constitution. The Serbian delegation that set out to New York Sunday includes Kostunica, his advisor Vladeta Jankovic and state negotiating team coordinator Slobodan Samarzic. "Ahtisaari's plan unlikely to be rejected" U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Polt told B92 it was unrealistic to expect that the UN Security Council would fail to adopt new status-defining resolution on Kosovo, adding that "the Serbian Government had a legitimate right to defend what it perceived to be Serbia’s best interest." “We believe in a successful adoption of the resolution set to introduce supervised independence for Kosovo. The international community headed by the UN has employed 15 months of joint efforts. We believe it is in Kosovo and Serbia’s best interest to move forward and make progress on the issue, as UN-sponsored plan is an only viable and realistic option that could yield results and settle Kosovo’s status,” Polt added. UK Ambassador to Serbia Stephen Wordsworth said that the statements so far given by Russian top officials “didn’t clearly indicate that Russia would use its veto in the UN Security Council.” “Russian officials most often have said their country cannot back UN envoy’s plan as such, which means it will either abstain from the vote, or use its veto,” Wordsworth argued. “If they opted for veto, what would happen afterwards?” he wondered. “In my opinion, Russia’s veto might only aggravate the situation. We have to solve the problem taking into account the interests of Kosovo’s citizens and the whole Serbia. Current state of affairs in Kosovo, which has lasted for eight years now, needs an epilogue,” the UK Ambassador said Wordsworth said he believed it wasn’t realistic to reverse the whole process and start negotiations from scratch. “I hold that Russia at the moment keeps all its options open and it’s early to predict what it would choose to do,” he concluded. Ambassador Michael Polt (FoNet) “Kosovo is lost for Serbia” The editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Politics magazine Fyodor Lukyanov said Russia will not risk confrontation with the West for Serbia’s sake, despite president Vladimir Putin’s disagreement with imposed solutions for Kosovo. “What Russia can do is demonstrate its stance, namely that no one can afford to ignore us, so that the Western powers are forced to take Moscow’s position into account,” Lukyanov told Blic daily. “What this means is that Russia will provide more time and an opportunity for Belgrade to have a better position in the Kosovo discussion, but not to be unrealistic. Kosovo is lost for Serbia and everyone understands that,” Lukyanov said.

Kosovo's future on UN agenda tomorrow

Ahead of his journey to New York Sunday, Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica said  "it was quite clear Ahtisaari’s plan would fail to pass the UN Security Council, for it was an illegitimate and illegal document set to dismember Serbia.”

Koštunica believes the rejection of Ahtisaari’s plan would lead to fresh negotiations, mediated by a new UN envoy, so as to reach a compromise in line with the UN Charter and the Serbian Constitution.

The Serbian delegation that set out to New York Sunday includes Koštunica, his advisor Vladeta Janković and state negotiating team coordinator Slobodan Samaržić.

"Ahtisaari's plan unlikely to be rejected"

U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Michael Polt told B92 it was unrealistic to expect that the UN Security Council would fail to adopt new status-defining resolution on Kosovo, adding that "the Serbian Government had a legitimate right to defend what it perceived to be Serbia’s best interest."

“We believe in a successful adoption of the resolution set to introduce supervised independence for Kosovo. The international community headed by the UN has employed 15 months of joint efforts. We believe it is in Kosovo and Serbia’s best interest to move forward and make progress on the issue, as UN-sponsored plan is an only viable and realistic option that could yield results and settle Kosovo’s status,” Polt added.

UK Ambassador to Serbia Stephen Wordsworth said that the statements so far given by Russian top officials “didn’t clearly indicate that Russia would use its veto in the UN Security Council.”

“Russian officials most often have said their country cannot back UN envoy’s plan as such, which means it will either abstain from the vote, or use its veto,” Wordsworth argued.

“If they opted for veto, what would happen afterwards?” he wondered.

“In my opinion, Russia’s veto might only aggravate the situation. We have to solve the problem taking into account the interests of Kosovo’s citizens and the whole Serbia. Current state of affairs in Kosovo, which has lasted for eight years now, needs an epilogue,” the UK Ambassador said

Wordsworth said he believed it wasn’t realistic to reverse the whole process and start negotiations from scratch.

“I hold that Russia at the moment keeps all its options open and it’s early to predict what it would choose to do,” he concluded.

“Kosovo is lost for Serbia”

The editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Politics magazine Fyodor Lukyanov said Russia will not risk confrontation with the West for Serbia’s sake, despite president Vladimir Putin’s disagreement with imposed solutions for Kosovo.

“What Russia can do is demonstrate its stance, namely that no one can afford to ignore us, so that the Western powers are forced to take Moscow’s position into account,” Lukyanov told Blic daily.

“What this means is that Russia will provide more time and an opportunity for Belgrade to have a better position in the Kosovo discussion, but not to be unrealistic. Kosovo is lost for Serbia and everyone understands that,” Lukyanov said.