Serbia will be more flexible once unilateral Kosovo independence threats stop

Belgrade, Oct 29, 2007 – Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic announced readiness of Belgrade to be even more flexible in negotiations on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija once there are no more threats of a unilateral proclamation and recognition of independence of the southern Serbian province.
In an interview with daily Blic, Jeremic said that as long as any document put on the table clearly excludes the possibility of unilateral proclamation and recognition of Kosovo’s independence.

He said that he would like a compromise solution to be found by December 10, but doubted it is a realistic aim.

Hence it is of utmost importance to make substantial progress in negotiations to set foundations for the position of the international community that talks need to continue. However, the threat of unilateral moves puts a big burden on the whole process and thus also burdens the chance to find a compromise, Jeremic said.

Commenting on the fact that the troika could come up with another, final document by the end of the negotiating process, he said that Belgrade shall not, under any circumstances, agree to any offer jeopardising and relativising Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia.

He said he believes that compromise is possible, a model which brings together the legitimate requests of Kosovo Albanians for a high degree of self-government with the equally legitimate Belgrade request for the preservation of sovereignty, which is why both sides should talk until a solution is reached.

According to Jeremic, everything else is not a solution but mere rephrasing of the problem in the Balkans and it is now increasingly clear that more international actors are becoming interested in a precedent, such as the province’s independence.

When asked under which conditions Belgrade would agree that an EU mission comes to Kosovo-Metohija, Jeremic recalled that not even during the talks led by Martti Ahtisaari did Belgrade pose amendments to the proposal defining the European presence in the province.

We did not do that because we believe that the EU should have a leading role in administering Kosovo-Metohija after a compromise solution to the status is reached. However, any change in the way the province is administered must be preceded by an appropriate decision by the UN Security Council. We now have Resolution 1244 according to which the UN mission has clear legitimacy to administer the province and this can be changed by a new resolution, explained Jeremic.

He stressed that Brussels and Belgrade advocate the joint policy that EU accession and negotiations on the status of Kosovo-Metohija are two different processes.

Our decision on Kosovo-Metohija must not in any way be related to our decision to join the EU. This is a choice which our country cannot make. No one should put Serbian citizens in a situation of choosing between those two issues. The European road is equally important to Serbia as is the preservation of its territorial wholeness, said Jeremic.