Minister: Kosovo process not over yet

Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic said that Serbia is not finished with its fight for finding a solution of compromise for Kosovo’s final status. He said that Serbia does not want to finish the process as the winner, but does not want to come out of it damaged and stripped of its own territory either. Minister: Kosovo process not over yet “That is why we expect to make it clear, through the support given to the resolution submitted to the United Nations, that unilateral moves cannot be respected and that Kosovo did not have the right to secede,” he said. “In fact, we expect the UN to put some sense into the Albanians and influence them to agree to constructive talks on the future of Kosovo. That is why I believe that it would have been much worse had we not submitted the resolution to the UN,” Bogdanovic said in an interview with daily Vecernje Novosti. He also said that “some member-states of the European Union are protesting over Serbia’s opposing stance on Kosovo,” but added that Serbia must protect its interests. “It is clear that the pressure on our state to give up the fight for the preservation of within Serbia, and the pressure on the countries that have not recognized Kosovo's independence to do so, is enormous. That is why the president appointed fifty emissaries to lobby for not recognizing Kosovo,” he said. “We believe that the submitted resolution will help prevent new independence recognitions. In that respect, we are optimists and we believe that the countries that have not recognize Kosovo's independence will remain consistent in their stances, despite numerous pressures, and we hope that the UN General Assembly will respect our resolution which states that Kosovo is a part of Serbia,” said Bogdanovic. According to the minister, “the decision by KFOR to hand over the guarding of the Serb monasteries in Kosovo to the Kosovo Police does not contribute to security, but, instead, produces additional insecurity and increases mistrust among the Serbs in Kosovo.” “This move by KFOR, without the consent of Belgrade and the Serbian Orthodox Church, encourages Pristina to continue to make unilateral moves. At the same time, it is an attempt to present the security situation in Serbia's southern province a lot differently than it actually is on the ground, despite the fact that the Serb and non-Albanian population in the province continue to live in fear,” said Bogdanovic.

Minister: Kosovo process not over yet

“That is why we expect to make it clear, through the support given to the resolution submitted to the United Nations, that unilateral moves cannot be respected and that Kosovo did not have the right to secede,” he said.

“In fact, we expect the UN to put some sense into the Albanians and influence them to agree to constructive talks on the future of Kosovo. That is why I believe that it would have been much worse had we not submitted the resolution to the UN,” Bogdanović said in an interview with daily Vecernje Novosti.

He also said that “some member-states of the European Union are protesting over Serbia’s opposing stance on Kosovo,” but added that Serbia must protect its interests.

“It is clear that the pressure on our state to give up the fight for the preservation of within Serbia, and the pressure on the countries that have not recognized Kosovo's independence to do so, is enormous. That is why the president appointed fifty emissaries to lobby for not recognizing Kosovo,” he said.

“We believe that the submitted resolution will help prevent new independence recognitions. In that respect, we are optimists and we believe that the countries that have not recognize Kosovo's independence will remain consistent in their stances, despite numerous pressures, and we hope that the UN General Assembly will respect our resolution which states that Kosovo is a part of Serbia,” said Bogdanović.

According to the minister, “the decision by KFOR to hand over the guarding of the Serb monasteries in Kosovo to the Kosovo Police does not contribute to security, but, instead, produces additional insecurity and increases mistrust among the Serbs in Kosovo.”

“This move by KFOR, without the consent of Belgrade and the Serbian Orthodox Church, encourages Priština to continue to make unilateral moves. At the same time, it is an attempt to present the security situation in Serbia's southern province a lot differently than it actually is on the ground, despite the fact that the Serb and non-Albanian population in the province continue to live in fear,” said Bogdanović.