No Changes to Kosovo Status Without UN SC Resolution
Status of the Serbian Province Can Only be Changed by the UN Security Council
Director of the Swiss Institute of Federalism and legal advisor of the Serbian State team for talks on the status of Kosovo-Metohija Thomas Fleiner said that Serbian province’s status cannot be changed without the UN Security Council resolution.
In an interview for today’s edition of the Vecernje novosti daily, Fleiner stressed that every other move would directly undermine the credibility of the UN, endanger its missions throughout the world and make the situation in Kosovo-Metohija province utterly unstable and unpredictable.
Speaking about the announcement that the US might still unilaterally acknowledge the province’s independence, Fleiner said that in the UN Security Council resolutions the following words are repeated three times: “We are devoted to the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia) over Kosovo.”
UNMIK and NATO in Kosovo Province Obliged to be Loyal to the UN, Not U.S.
According to Fleiner, if the US, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, should decide to unilaterally recognize an independent Kosovo, that would be an obvious breach of a number of UN acts of the highest instance.
When asked how such illegal situation might be enforced in Kosovo-Metohija, Fleiner explained that the entire UN administration in the province and the KFOR/NATO presence there are instituted by and based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
Therefore, they are obliged to be loyal to the UN and fight any decisions which are not in accordance with Security Council resolutions. Otherwise, both UNMIK and KFOR/NATO would suddenly find themselves operating outside the UN mandate and without the approval of one or two permanent Security Council members, replied Fleiner.
He added that the EU may take over the mission from the UN “only if the UN Security Council makes such a decision, but it cannot be brought unless all permanent Security Council members, including Russia, are of the same mind.”
Acting Outside the UN Would Have Catastrophic Consequences
Consequences would be catastrophic if the US or some other country decides to bring down the United Nations and the international legal system using the case of Kosovo-Metohija, said Fleiner.
It would mean that all Security Council decisions and resolutions have lost their validity and credibility. Furthermore, international administrations in Kosovo-Metohija, Bosnia, even Iraq perhaps, would always be in danger since any Security Council member may decide not to acknowledge them any longer, explained Fleiner.
Predetermined Outcome Means Negotiations are Pointless
If compromise is not attained in the course of upcoming talks between Belgrade and Pristina, there can never be true talks, reiterated Fleiner.
There may be talks but only if they are open and if both sides accept that openness. There is no point in beginning any talks if the outcome is known in advance and the only goal is to bring one side around to simply accept what has already been prepared by the Western powers, concluded Fleiner.