Jeremić: Departure due to bilateral meetings

Serbia's chief of diplomacy says he left the official dinner in Bled last night to attend bilateral meetings. "We felt that we would be better off spending our time in bilateral talks, rather than listening to Ahtisaari, as his plan is no longer valid as far as we are concerned," Vuk Jeremic told journalists after participating in today’s discussion panel on EU enlargement at the Strategic Forum held in Bled, Slovenia. Jeremic: Departure due to bilateral meetings Slovenian news agency STA last night reported that Jeremic had left the official dinner organized for the forum participants in protest at not being given the opportunity to respond to UN Special Kosovo Envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s speech. At the dinner attended by over 100 guests, the former envoy talked about Kosovo. According to the agency, despite having earlier been informed otherwise, the minister was not allowed to give a response to the speech, and walked out of the dining hall in protest. Addressing the other participants, Ahtisaari said that the failure to resolve the Kosovo question was threatening stability in the western Balkans and that it was high time that a solution was found. He urged this to happen as soon as possible after December 10, when the Contact Group is due to announce the results of the additional talks between Belgrade and Pristina. "Neither a return to Serbian rule, which the majority of citizens would not in any case accept, nor the continuation of political and legal uncertainty under the leadership of the international community are the right choices." "Rather, the international community has to close this chapter where history has been used to stir up hate and violence," Ahtisaari added. Vuk Jeremic, Dimitrij Rupel in Bled (Beta) Future of EU integration The Bled Strategic Forum, this year held under the title Enlarging and Integrating, opened yesterday. The conference was opened with speeches from the host, Slovenian Prime Minister, Janez Janse, and Foreign Minister, Dimitrij Rupel. The gathering also saw a series of bilateral meetings between numerous government representatives from the participating countries, which was followed by the official dinner, where the UN Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari gave a speech. The opening ceremony was also attended by Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, who was not on the official guest list. Furthermore, one of today’s panels at the conference will be led by the Director of the Slovenian Institute for Strategic Studies, Borut Grgic, who until recently was Rupel’s adviser, and now performs the same role for Ceku. The Serbian Delegation at the conference is led by Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic who will have a working lunch with Rupel. Jeremic will take part in a discussion panel throughout the day on the theme of Further European Expansion, while Director of the Balkan Fund for Democracy Ivan Vejvoda will give a speech on the matter. The solution for the future status of Kosovo's status is of key importance for the future of the European Union (EU), a panel discussion at the forum concluded. "It is not impossible to resolve this issue, but it requires a united stand of the EU," Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said. Once the question of Kosovo's status is resolved, the EU should open its doors to Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, so that Europe could be stable, Gruevski said. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli denied any connection between Kosovo and the situation in the Georgian region of Abkhazia, pointing out that this is in fact "a completely different problem". The conference participants will discuss energy and climate change, the future of EU expansion, as well as global governance. All the mentioned topics are linked to Slovenia’s upcoming EU presidency in the first half of next year. One of the priorities of the Slovenian presidency will be EU expansion to the west Balkan states, the importance of which was underlined by the Slovenian prime minister and foreign minister, who added that the time had come to implement the commitments undertaken in the Thessalonika agenda.

Jeremić: Departure due to bilateral meetings

Slovenian news agency STA last night reported that Jeremić had left the official dinner organized for the forum participants in protest at not being given the opportunity to respond to UN Special Kosovo Envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s speech.

At the dinner attended by over 100 guests, the former envoy talked about Kosovo.

According to the agency, despite having earlier been informed otherwise, the minister was not allowed to give a response to the speech, and walked out of the dining hall in protest.

Addressing the other participants, Ahtisaari said that the failure to resolve the Kosovo question was threatening stability in the western Balkans and that it was high time that a solution was found.

He urged this to happen as soon as possible after December 10, when the Contact Group is due to announce the results of the additional talks between Belgrade and Priština.

"Neither a return to Serbian rule, which the majority of citizens would not in any case accept, nor the continuation of political and legal uncertainty under the leadership of the international community are the right choices."

"Rather, the international community has to close this chapter where history has been used to stir up hate and violence," Ahtisaari added.

Future of EU integration

The Bled Strategic Forum, this year held under the title Enlarging and Integrating, opened yesterday.

The conference was opened with speeches from the host, Slovenian Prime Minister, Janez Janše, and Foreign Minister, Dimitrij Rupel.

The gathering also saw a series of bilateral meetings between numerous government representatives from the participating countries, which was followed by the official dinner, where the UN Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari gave a speech.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, who was not on the official guest list.

Furthermore, one of today’s panels at the conference will be led by the Director of the Slovenian Institute for Strategic Studies, Borut Grgič, who until recently was Rupel’s adviser, and now performs the same role for Ceku.

The Serbian Delegation at the conference is led by Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić who will have a working lunch with Rupel.

Jeremić will take part in a discussion panel throughout the day on the theme of Further European Expansion, while Director of the Balkan Fund for Democracy Ivan Vejvoda will give a speech on the matter.

The solution for the future status of Kosovo's status is of key importance for the future of the European Union (EU), a panel discussion at the forum concluded.

"It is not impossible to resolve this issue, but it requires a united stand of the EU," Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said.

Once the question of Kosovo's status is resolved, the EU should open its doors to Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, so that Europe could be stable, Gruevski said.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli denied any connection between Kosovo and the situation in the Georgian region of Abkhazia, pointing out that this is in fact "a completely different problem".

The conference participants will discuss energy and climate change, the future of EU expansion, as well as global governance.

All the mentioned topics are linked to Slovenia’s upcoming EU presidency in the first half of next year.

One of the priorities of the Slovenian presidency will be EU expansion to the west Balkan states, the importance of which was underlined by the Slovenian prime minister and foreign minister, who added that the time had come to implement the commitments undertaken in the Thessalonika agenda.