Ending the Madness
Kosovo-Metohija through the eyes of Serbian children, more available here.
Kostunica Calls Western Countries to Withdraw Their Proposal
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica called upon Western countries which proposed the new draft resolution on Kosovo-Metohija to withdraw their proposal since it contravenes the UN Charter, and advocates seizing a considerable portion of the territory of another UN member-state.
“Thanks to Russia’s principled stance, it is clear that a resolution which severely breaches essential principles of international law cannot pass the Security Council,” said Kostunica.
No Explanation for Ending the Talks or for Failing to Reopen Them
“We still haven’t received any explanation whatsoever as to why the talks were stopped and why new talks on Kosovo aren’t opened at Belgrade’s initiative. The Serbian government has forwarded an official proposal to the UN Secretary General on the continuation of talks on the province’s future status, for which no new resolution is needed, but only good will to sit at the negotiating table and seek a compromise solution through dialogue,” reads the Prime Minister’s written statement.
Kosovo-Metohija Minister: UN Resolution Should Result From Talks, Not Precede Them
Speaking about the draft US-European resolution presented yesterday at the UN headquarters, Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Slobodan Samardzic said that this text brings nothing new in comparison with the previous two drafts and is unacceptable both for Belgrade and Moscow.
He pointed out that the new draft resolution is not encouraging the Albanian side to negotiate. Instead, it is giving them a misguiding signal that they should only wait four months until the final decision is made, while all the time they are being guaranteed that the final decision, monitored independence of Kosovo-Metohija, will be accepted by Serbia and Russia.
Samardzic said that Serbia does not need a new UN Security Council resolution before the talks on Kosovo-Metohija resume, particularly not a resolution imposing deadlines on the talks and predefining their outcome.
In a statement to the Tanjug news agency, Samardzic said that if a resolution is to be made in the end, it would have to result from the talks and the already achieved compromise solution between Belgrade and Pristina.
According to Samardzic, in order for real negotiations to be given a chance, the talks cannot be limited in time and defined in advance by the acceptance of Ahtisaari’s proposal, or on the province’s independence as the certain outcome of the talks.