French ambassador: We want to help Serbia

Serbia has its place in the EU and Paris wants in to become a membership candidate soon, the French ambassador says. Jean Francois Terral told Beta news agency that he "understands Kosovo is an important issue for Serbia", but that the authorities "must ask themselves how the measures taken toward those countries that have recognized Kosovo serve Serbian interests and the desire to ingrate in Europe". French ambassador: We want to help Serbia France was one of the first countries to recognize the Kosovo Albanians' unilateral declaration of independence. Belgrade considers both the proclamation and its recognitions illegal under international law. Today, Terral said that France is "naturally committed to good cooperation with the International War Crimes Court", when asked whether Serbia can sign the SAA with Brussels before former Bosnian Serb army head Ratko Mladic is extradited to the Hague Tribunal. "However, there are other criteria that must be taken into account. One needs to consider what will happen after the elections [of May 11]: perspectives of cooperation with the International War Crimes Court will differ depending on who wins the majority," the French diplomat said. In reference to a recent EU ministerial meeting, Terrel reminded that the ministers advocated an accelerated visa liberalization process, and that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner "particularly asked for a free-of-charge visa regime to be introduced very quickly". As for the influence the French recognition of Kosovo has had on the relations between Paris and Belgrade, the ambassador said it is "obvious we are going through a delicate period". Serbia has withdrawn its ambassador from France in the wake of the announcement that this country will recognize the secession of the province. "I have no official contacts with the ministers, and for this reason it is hard to make progress in certain jobs that I especially care about. For instance, I planned to bring an important delegation from France's largest companies to Belgrade, but I had to postpone this project. At the same time, the discussions I had with the education minister about the construction of a French lycee have also been postponed," he said. "I do not neglect the fact that even with those Serbs who understand the point of our activities the emotions were very strong. I understand that, faced with such emotions, the Serbian authorities had to react. They did so through measures that had a symbolic meaning, especially by recalling ambassadors. It is up to them to find out if these measures are useful for Serbian interests. Are they not contradictory to the desire for European integration?" Terral wondered. According to the French ambassador, the "supervised independence of Kosovo" has "not changed much in the region so far". "But, we need to think about the future: three neighboring countries, Hungary, Bulgaria and Croatia, not to mention Albania, have already recognized Kosovo's supervised independence. Parallel with joining the EU, regional cooperation is in everyone's interest, Belgrade's and Pristina's alike. The issue of Kosovo ought not to be an obstacle to this. There must be ability to accept reality as it is," he continued. Terral also commented on the disagreements between the western powers and Russia over the issue, and said talk of a new cold war was "exaggerated". "The EU, as such, and its member states, France in particular, have an intensive bond with the Russian Federation and many common interests. All this outweighs the differences over Kosovo, which can be overcome if all sides show a sense of realism," the French diplomat said. The idea of Kosovo's partition, Terral believes, must be viewed in light of the fact "most Kosovo Serbs live south of the Ibar, in the enclaves". "We in France have always said, that the protection of Serb interests is a priority: Serbs from the north, those from the enclaves, cultural and religious monuments and Serbian Orthodox Church holy places. In the context of supervised independence, that is what we need to focus on. We also need to remind ourselves that EULEX is primarily to protect these interests," Terral said of the EU mission sent to the province, which Belgrade deems illegal. Jean Francois Terral (FoNet, archive)

French ambassador: We want to help Serbia

France was one of the first countries to recognize the Kosovo Albanians' unilateral declaration of independence. Belgrade considers both the proclamation and its recognitions illegal under international law.

Today, Terral said that France is "naturally committed to good cooperation with the International War Crimes Court", when asked whether Serbia can sign the SAA with Brussels before former Bosnian Serb army head Ratko Mladić is extradited to the Hague Tribunal.

"However, there are other criteria that must be taken into account. One needs to consider what will happen after the elections [of May 11]: perspectives of cooperation with the International War Crimes Court will differ depending on who wins the majority," the French diplomat said.

In reference to a recent EU ministerial meeting, Terrel reminded that the ministers advocated an accelerated visa liberalization process, and that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner "particularly asked for a free-of-charge visa regime to be introduced very quickly".

As for the influence the French recognition of Kosovo has had on the relations between Paris and Belgrade, the ambassador said it is "obvious we are going through a delicate period".

Serbia has withdrawn its ambassador from France in the wake of the announcement that this country will recognize the secession of the province.

"I have no official contacts with the ministers, and for this reason it is hard to make progress in certain jobs that I especially care about. For instance, I planned to bring an important delegation from France's largest companies to Belgrade, but I had to postpone this project. At the same time, the discussions I had with the education minister about the construction of a French lycee have also been postponed," he said.

"I do not neglect the fact that even with those Serbs who understand the point of our activities the emotions were very strong. I understand that, faced with such emotions, the Serbian authorities had to react. They did so through measures that had a symbolic meaning, especially by recalling ambassadors. It is up to them to find out if these measures are useful for Serbian interests. Are they not contradictory to the desire for European integration?" Terral wondered.

According to the French ambassador, the "supervised independence of Kosovo" has "not changed much in the region so far".

"But, we need to think about the future: three neighboring countries, Hungary, Bulgaria and Croatia, not to mention Albania, have already recognized Kosovo's supervised independence. Parallel with joining the EU, regional cooperation is in everyone's interest, Belgrade's and Priština's alike. The issue of Kosovo ought not to be an obstacle to this. There must be ability to accept reality as it is," he continued.

Terral also commented on the disagreements between the western powers and Russia over the issue, and said talk of a new cold war was "exaggerated".

"The EU, as such, and its member states, France in particular, have an intensive bond with the Russian Federation and many common interests. All this outweighs the differences over Kosovo, which can be overcome if all sides show a sense of realism," the French diplomat said.

The idea of Kosovo's partition, Terral believes, must be viewed in light of the fact "most Kosovo Serbs live south of the Ibar, in the enclaves".

"We in France have always said, that the protection of Serb interests is a priority: Serbs from the north, those from the enclaves, cultural and religious monuments and Serbian Orthodox Church holy places. In the context of supervised independence, that is what we need to focus on. We also need to remind ourselves that EULEX is primarily to protect these interests," Terral said of the EU mission sent to the province, which Belgrade deems illegal.