Serbia Refuses to Trade Kosovo for EU Membership
Rejecting the Rotten Carrot
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica says Belgrade can agree to substantial autonomy, but not independence for Kosovo.
“Serbia will not accept independence as a solution to the Kosovo status issue, even if its EU membership bid should suffer as a result,” Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in an interview to Serbian daily Danas:
Serbia will reject a solution that takes Kosovo away from Serbia and, very importantly, will continue to consider Kosovo part of its territory.
According to Kostunica, some within the international community have suggested that Serbia give up Kosovo for the sake of EU membership. “While entry into the Union requires meeting certain conditions, these do not include territorial concessions,” the prime minister said.
Kosovo Will Remain Part of Serbia
UN-led talks to determine Kosovo's final status have yet to see a significant breakthrough. The two sides remain far apart in their positions, with the Albanian Muslims saying they will accept nothing short of independence and Serbia insisting it will agree only to “substantial autonomy”.
UN Special Envoy Marrti Ahtisaari is said to be planning to brief the UN Security Council on the status negotiations in September. If an agreement has not been reached, the Security Council could impose a solution.
“Serbia's position will be to reiterate that Kosovo is a part of Serbia,” said Kostunica. “This is not empty rhetoric, but a legal and constitutional formulation.”
Serbian Army Not Preparing for War
But he distanced himself from a recent statement by Tomislav Nikolic, deputy leader of the Serbian patriotic Radical Party, who said Serbia should fight for Kosovo in the event the province is declared independent against the will of Serbian nation and against Serbia's national interest.
“Serbia so far has reached only for legal arguments, not force,” Kostunica said. “That is how it would act in the future.”
Serbian Defence Minister Zoran Stankovic said the army was not preparing for war in response to Kosovo's possible forcible secession. “We are not thinking about armed conflicts, nor do we intend to prepare the armed forces for active participation in armed conflicts,” the minister said during a visit to Novi Sad.