Security Council on Kosovo

Security Council on Kosovo

UNMIK chief also expressed his readiness to cooperate with Belgrade in building Kosovo’s future and called on Serbian government to join those efforts. Reucker told the Serb community in Kosovo the answer lied in integration, rather than isolation.

Kosovo Coordinating center chief Sanda Rašković-Ivić said the “unfortunate” statement by UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari on Serb guilt was “the only argument” in favor of Kosovo’s independence which was presented to the Serbian side so far. She added that the Albanian side doesn’t in fact involve itself in the negotiations, waiting instead to be presented the gift of the second Albanian state in the Balkans. Sanda Rašković-Ivić stressed the principal issue Kosovo is facing is that if security: “Since the last UN Security Council meeting, 51 incidents occurred in Kosovo, involving attacks on Serb lives and property. In the past year there were 260 such attacks. Belgrade is deeply convinced that Kosovo’s future status can only be solved thought systematic and responsible negotiations without imposed deadlines. Any hasty acceleration will cost the whole region dearly, as well as the province itself, and the international community”.

Joachim Ruecker replied that UNMIK was “not ignoring” ethnic violence and added this had a negative psychological impact on the Serb community in Kosovo. According to him, the same or similar crimes are perpetrated against Albanians.

U.S. representative at the UN has called on Belgrade and Priština to be “realistic” in the negotiations, and warned that both sides must prepare for “difficult compromises”. The British representative said there was essential progress in key areas, but that the standards implementation must continue.

On the other hand, the Russian ambassador to the UN said standards have not been implemented in Kosovo, adding that setting of deadlines would be counter-productive for the negotiations on the province’s future status.