Serbia blocks OSCE statement

Serbia has blocked the adoption of an OSCE ministerial statement concerning a mission to Kosovo, says Vuk Jeremic. The foreign minister said that the document called on an OSCE mission to Kosovo in 2008, regardless of the outcome of the Kosovo talks. Serbia blocks OSCE statement “It’s unacceptable for Serbia. Everything linked to Kosovo and the international presence must be in line with international law and confirmed by the Security Council,” said Jeremic. The foreign minister, who is attending an OSCE summit in Madrid, said that the presence of international forces or organizations was unacceptable to Serbia unless it’s in line with UNSC Resolution 1244 or a new resolution. Without a UN resolution, said Jeremic, there could be no OSCE Mission, or any other international mission to Kosovo, and that is a position that Belgrade refuses to back down from. He stressed that Serbia had not agreed to the statement on firm, principled grounds, thus blocking its adoption, the first time Serbia had blocked such an international initiative in a long time. At the OSCE summit, during the first day of the meeting, the main subject of discussion was the issue of resolving Kosovo’s future status, during which the foreign minister had a heated debate with U.S. Under Secretary Nicholas Burns. Jeremic also met with several foreign ministers from the OSCEurope member-states, stressing that a solution to the Kosovo status issue needed to be found that complied with international law, based on the Helsinki Final Act, a document formulated by the OSCE in 1975. Jeremic will today meet with colleagues from Belgium, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovakia and Greece today, as well as with OSCE National Minorities Commissioner Knut Vollebaek. OSCE foreign ministers in Madrid (Tanjug)

Serbia blocks OSCE statement

“It’s unacceptable for Serbia. Everything linked to Kosovo and the international presence must be in line with international law and confirmed by the Security Council,” said Jeremić.

The foreign minister, who is attending an OSCE summit in Madrid, said that the presence of international forces or organizations was unacceptable to Serbia unless it’s in line with UNSC Resolution 1244 or a new resolution.

Without a UN resolution, said Jeremić, there could be no OSCE Mission, or any other international mission to Kosovo, and that is a position that Belgrade refuses to back down from.

He stressed that Serbia had not agreed to the statement on firm, principled grounds, thus blocking its adoption, the first time Serbia had blocked such an international initiative in a long time.

At the OSCE summit, during the first day of the meeting, the main subject of discussion was the issue of resolving Kosovo’s future status, during which the foreign minister had a heated debate with U.S. Under Secretary Nicholas Burns.

Jeremić also met with several foreign ministers from the OSCEurope member-states, stressing that a solution to the Kosovo status issue needed to be found that complied with international law, based on the Helsinki Final Act, a document formulated by the OSCE in 1975.

Jeremić will today meet with colleagues from Belgium, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovakia and Greece today, as well as with OSCE National Minorities Commissioner Knut Vollebaek.