Mr. President, thank you for convening this session of the Security Council.

Excellencies, once again we are gathered to discuss troubling developments in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija that have been caused by the unilateral declaration of independence by its Provisional Institutions of Self-Government, which took place on February 17th of this year.

It is the position of the Republic of Serbia that UDI directly contravenes the Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act, and other cornerstone documents upon which the international system has been built. Equally important is the fact that Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) clearly places a binding, Chapter VII obligation on all member-states to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of my country.

A great majority of the world organization's 192 Member-States have continued to abide by these principles and obligations. On behalf of the Republic of Serbia, allow me to express my profound appreciation to them for their commitment to the rule of international law, and state clearly my country's continued dedication to those same principles.

There is a minority that has, unfortunately, chosen to support the attempt at secession by the Kosovo Albanians. This has put at risk the consolidation of peace and stability in the Western Balkans, and set back more than a decade of hard work by this very Council.

It has also created an environment in which the international system as a whole is becoming more unstable, more insecure, and more unpredictable. The potential damage to the founding principles of this Organization is becoming more apparent, as is the awareness that the legacy the UN will pass on to the future generations would be tarnished.

The Republic of Serbia, for its part, has taken a position entirely consistent with the fact that we were a co-founder of this Organization in 1945 - one that takes seriously international law and its aim of promoting peaceful, just and consensual resolutions of disputes.

That is why our National Assembly has declared UDI - and all subsequent decisions stemming from it - to be null and void. And that is why we have ruled out the use of force, while affirming our right to employ all diplomatic and political means to ensure that Kosovo does not join the world community of sovereign states.
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Mr. President, I want to be very clear. Serbia will never recognize the independence of Kosovo.

We will continue to work towards finding a legal way forward that seeks to bridge differences, not widen them; reconciles opposing points of view, not entrenches them; and fosters cooperation, not discourages it.

It is in this context that I turn to a consideration of the Report of the Secretary-General on UNMIK submitted to this Council, and the letter that I received from him dated June 12th, 2008.


Excellencies,

The Report refers to the emergence of a "new reality" in Kosovo as a result of UDI. It also refers to the recent passage, by the Provisional Assembly of our province of Kosovo, of a so-called "constitution" intended to implement the Ahtisaari Proposal that has not received the endorsement of this Council, and therefore carries no legal weight whatsoever.

The Report says - I quote - "this constitution is designed in such a way that it seeks to effectively remove from UNMIK its current powers as an interim civil administration."

This usurpation by the authorities in Pristina of the mandate this Council gave to UNMIK is deeply troubling. Equally worrisome is the fact that the Report gives an impression of acquiescing to an unjustifiable violation of Resolution 1244.

I am led to conclude that the Report is an acknowledgment that an influential and determined minority can set aside considerations of international law, in the name of appeasing an ethnic group that has been threatening violence if its maximalist demands are not met.

That must not be the way forward. International peace and security can only be consolidated through dialogue, not imposition; through agreement, not compulsion; and through law, not threats.


Excellencies,

Since UDI, the human rights record in our southern province has not improved. IDPs have not returned. Jobs have not been created. Destroyed homes belonging to Serbs have not been rebuilt. Serbian private property has not been returned. Organized crime has not been reduced. And our cultural heritage has not become more secure.

In fact, since UDI, things have gotten worse. The uncomfortable, yet incontrovertible truth, is that the "new reality" to which the Report refers has caused a further deterioration in the already unstable situation on the ground.

I give you one example. SRSG Joachim Ruecker finally agreed a few weeks ago to issue an Executive Decision restoring illegally seized land to its rightful owner, the 13th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery of Visoki Decani - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The unfortunate result has been the refusal of the municipal authorities of the town of Decani to restore the cadastral record as required by the Executive Order, issued under the authority of Resolution 1244. UN officials in Decani have been assaulted after having been declared to be personae non grata.

This illustration of the callous disregard for the rule of law and the standards of the United Nations that we face throughout the province is implicitly taken up in the Report by an assessment that - quote - "UNMIK will no longer be able to perform effectively the vast majority of its tasks as an interim administration." - end quote.

This can only lead us to the conclusion that the UN's mission has not been accomplished. In other words, its mandate has not been fulfilled and its task has not been completed.

Under such circumstances, the United Nations cannot - and must not - walk away.


Excellencies,

It is therefore the position of the Republic of Serbia that the course of action submitted in the Report cannot give rise to a process that leads to a compromise solution - consistent with Resolution 1244 - to the future status of our southern province.

That is why the Republic of Serbia cannot endorse the Secretary-General's Report. Until the process envisaged in Resolution 1244 to determine Kosovo's future status is complete, the international community, led by the United Nations, has to retain its central role in the maintenance of peace and stability in Kosovo.

"Reconfiguration" - to which both the Report and the Secretary-General's letter to me refer - must be decided by the Security Council. It is the only institution endowed with the power to legitimate changes in the composition of the international presence in Kosovo, as paragraphs 5 and 19 of Resolution 1244 make abundantly clear.

In addition, we agree that the six topics mentioned in both documents - police, judiciary, customs, transportation and infrastructure, boundaries, and patrimony - require pressing attention. For every day that goes by without working towards some sort of agreement on these and other issues raises the likelihood of bringing up unsustainable hopes and dangerous, uncoordinated outcomes on the ground.

Therefore, my country is prepared to continue engaging in a dialogue with the United Nations in order to arrive at a satisfactory agreement.
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Finally, I am concerned that an implicit shift in position by NATO took place in Brussels a few days ago, during its most recent Ministerial Meeting. While reaffirming its status neutrality and adherence to Resolution 1244, it also announced that KFOR will undertake what it called "new tasks."

I refer most specifically to NATO's intent to supervise the standing down of the Kosovo Protection Corps, and supervise and support the establishment and training of the so-called Kosovo Security Force - a new institution whose establishment has not been approved by this Council. This places it clearly beyond the scope of Resolution 1244.

Accordingly, I must express my country's apprehension at the possibility that parts of the international community presence in Kosovo has chosen to participate in the formation and training of a quasi-military force. Such a step would call into question the trust KFOR has worked hard to attain amongst all the communities of our southern province, especially the Kosovo Serbs.
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Before I come to the end of my remarks, Mr. President, I would like to raise another issue with this Council.

It concerns what was perhaps the final negligent act by the former SRSG, Mr. Joachim Ruecker. Just a few days ago, he issued an Executive Decision that initiated a process by which funds totaling more than 426 million euros could be illegitimately transferred to the authorities in Pristina.

I want to make it abundantly clear that these funds - held in escrow by the United Nations to offset future claims by laid-off, mostly Kosovo Serb, workers and Serbian companies as a result of the questionable privatization process undertaken by the Kosovo Trust Agency - are not the property of the authorities in Pristina. The United Nations must immediately take all appropriate measures to ensure that these funds remain in its possession, and guarantee they continue to be available for their intended purpose.

We must work together to produce a solution to this serious issue in the very near future.


Excellencies,

In conclusion, I draw your attention to the fact that the Republic of Serbia held parliamentary elections on May 11th.

I have a constitutional duty to guide the process of the formation of the Government, which is at present in a decisive stage. Once confirmed by our National Assembly, this Government will continue implementing our state policy to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia. And it will have a historic task to implement the clear commitment of the citizens of Serbia to move decisively forward to full membership in the European Union.

It will also have a duty to complete the process of full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. This new Government will, I am confident, share in my firm conviction that a stable and secure future for the entire Western Balkans lies in the European Union.

It will therefore work closely with Brussels in overcoming the obstacles to the fulfillment of the region's common goal. This holds particularly true when problems related to Kosovo are under consideration, for they are amongst the most difficult ones that the Western Balkans are facing.
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Serbia is a key guarantor of regional stability. Our geo-strategic position - and our European accession aspirations - are assets to us all. The time has passed when we were a part of the Balkan problem. We intend to be a crucial part of the European solution.

I would like to stress the importance of finding a legal way forward on Kosovo, acceptable to all stakeholders and approved by the Security Council. Only such an approach can produce a sustainable outcome that will enable us fully to construct and integrate, and so to grasp the infinite opportunities that the Europe of the 21st century offers to all visionary crafters of a more prosperous tomorrow.


Excellencies,

The time has come to truly work in concert, by taking bold steps toward the fulfillment of the entire region's European future - one that is rooted in the facts that our heritage, our cultures, our beliefs, and our histories are profoundly European.

Over the course of decades, the EU has grown into a political form firmly joined by democratic values that created stability and security in our historically divided continent. It brought people together, expanded markets, and inspired attempts at resolving differences in line with the higher aspirations of our nations.

The EU achieved all this through a process of negotiations - serious, good-faith negotiations that continue until all parties feel satisfied. That's how Europe has been transformed from a place of strife to a place of concord.

And that is why, Mr. President, I see Europe as the key to Serbia's future success. I draw strength for this fundamental conviction from the solemn words of the preamble of the Treaty of Rome: "pooling their resources to preserve and strengthen peace and liberty."

That is the kind of Europe to which we are committed, and to which we - and all the Western Balkans - will belong very soon.

Let that be the new reality to which we re-dedicate ourselves today. Let that be our common destiny -the future status of all the Western Balkans.

No more divisions, no more discord, no more conflict.

The time to strengthen peace is now.
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Thank you, Mr. President, for having given me the opportunity to address this Council at a time of great consequence for us all. I look forward continue working with the United Nations on resolving the challenges we still must overcome together in Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija.

Vujanovic asks Solana for understanding for cautious stand

BRUSSELS, 25 February (Tanjug) - Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic asked European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, in Brussels on Monday, for understanding for the cautious stand that Podgorica must take on the issue of the recognition of the unilateral secession of Kosovo.



Students protest in Kosovska Mitrovica

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, 25 February (Tanjug) - Students of the Pristina University, whose seat was transferred temporarily to Kosovska Mitrovica, continued Monday their protest against the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo-Metohija.



Serbian environment minister visits Kosovo

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, 25 February (Tanjug) - Serbian Environment Minister Sasa Dragin and Dean of the Pristina University School of Technical Studies, temporarily transferred to Kosovska Mitrovica, Vladimir Raicevic signed Monday an agreement on a plan for environment protection in northern Kosovo-Metohija worth 2.6 million dinars.



Serbian education minister visits Kosovo

RANILUG, 25 February (Tanjug) - Serbian Education Minister Zoran Loncar conferred Monday in Ranilug with teachers in Kosovo on additional assistance the government intends to provide to primary and secondary schools in the area, local Serb officials told Tanjug.



Solana, Scheffer: EU, NATO to assume control over entire Kosovo

BRUSSELS, 25 February (Tanjug) - The European Union and NATO will assume control over the entire Kosovo territory, EU Foreign Policy and Security Chief Javier Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said after meeting in Brussels on Monday.



Ruecker, Samardzic meet, no progress

BELGRADE, 25 February (B92, Beta, Tanjug) - UNMIK chief Joachim Ruecker today met with Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic in Pristina.

After the meeting, the German diplomat said that "no concrete agreement was reached".

He told a news conference that he relayed UNMIK's position in the Kosovo status crisis to Samardzic, and added he asked the minister, from Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), to "refrain from violence-inciting statements", before he came to the province.

Belgrade's official position is that it accepts UNMIK and KFOR mandates, as they are in line with valid UN Resolution 1244, but rejects that of the EU mission, EULEX.

Before meeting with Ruecker, Samardzic visited the enclave of Novi Badrovac, where 70 homes for the internally displaced Serbs are now being built.

After the meeting, Samardzic said Belgrade is "against violence, especially that which breaks down international law". He added the main goal of his meeting with Ruecker earlier Monday was to "maintain peace and stability in Kosovo".

As for the ethnic Albanian leadership in the province, a deputy premier has described the visit today as "Belgrade's provocation".



Lavrov: Russia actively supports Serbia

MOSCOW, 25 February (Tanjug) - Russia actively supports Serbia's demands for establishing territorial integrity, said on Monday Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, criticising the intentions of the European Union, after undermining the territorial integrity of Serbia, to ensure the territorial integrity of an ''illegal entity.''

“It is inadmissible that, for the first time in post war history, a UN member state has been partitioned, contrary to all the principles and all the pillars that have up to now been applied in resolving territorial conflicts”, said Lavrov in an interview with information channel ''Vesti.''

He added that he did not know what were the real motives of the United States and of some European countries, who since the very beginning talked about the unacceptability of any outcome except independence, but the fact remains that this has brought great and still not fully displayed tension in Europe.



Feith: EU personnel withrawal from north not to aid partition

LONDON, 25 February (Tanjug) - EU envoy for Kosovo Peter Feith said that last week's withdrawal of EU mission preparatory personnel from the tense northern part of Kosovo, in which Serbs form a majority, would not help partition the province along ethnic lines.



Medvedev: Russia firmly against Kosovo's independence

BELGRADE, 25 February (Tanjug) - Russian First Deputy Premier Dmitry Medvedev said in Belgrade on Monday, following talks with Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, that the Russian Federation would firmly support the stand that Serbia is a unified state with Kosovo within its borders.



Ivanovic: Kosovo's north like RS

NOVI SAD, 25 February (Tanjug) - Leader of the Serb List for Kosovo and Metohija Oliver Ivanovic has expressed his confidence that in the coming period, the north of Kosovo will gain status similar to that of the Republic of Srpska (RS) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.



Kostunica calls on U.S. to annul Kosovo decision

BELGRADE, 24 February (B92, Beta, Tanjug) - Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica says Washington must annul its decision to recognize Kosovo's secession.

In this way, Kostunica said Sunday in Belgrade, international legal norms will once again be established.

"The United States of America must annul the decision to recognize a false state on the territory of Serbia, and create conditions for the United Nations Security Council to confirm the validity of Resolution 1244, which guarantees Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Kostunica said.

"This is the right way to once again establish the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter in the region of the Balkans," the prime minister continued.

He also said Washington is responsible to secure stability and peace in the region by confirming 1244 at the UN SC.

"Otherwise, a continued policy of force will only deepen this crisis that undermines the foundations of the entire world order and threatens peace and stability, not only in the Balkans," Kostunica warned.

The prime minister also expressed the government's gratitude to a large number of countries that have not recognized the existence of a false state on Serbia's territory.



Kosovo: EU mission leaves north

PRIZREN, 24 February (Beta) - EULEX chief Peter Feith yesterday decided to temporarily withdraw staff from the EU mission in northern Kosovo.

The Dutch diplomat confirmed this as he visited the town of Prizren yesterday.

"We have temporarily withdrawn our staff, but we will keep the office in the north. We hope that conditions will soon allow us to resume our activities," he said.

Feith also called on Serbs in the province to cooperate with the EU mission, which Serbia rejects, as illegal, since it is not in line with valid UN Resolution 1244.

Asked about the "future relationship between Serbia and Kosovo". The EU envoy said "there will be special ties between Serbia and Kosovo's Serbs", and went on to say: "It goes without saying, if the government of Kosovo agrees and if Serbia recognizes Kosovo's independence," Feith was quoted as saying by news agencies.



U.S. ambassador: This better not happen again

BELGRADE, 24 February (B92, AP) - U.S. Ambassador to Belgrade Cameron Munter today spoke about incidents that took place Thursday.

AP says, Munter "expressed outrage and demanded that Serbian leaders prevent any more violence against diplomatic missions."

Ambassador Cameron Munter also criticized Serb political leaders who have defended the riots as a "legitimate" form of protest over Kosovo's unilateral independence declaration, which the U.S. enthusiastically supported.

His remarks came a day after several Serbian officials blamed the U.S. for violence by Serb protesters.

On Friday, the State Department ordered the evacuation of embassy staff families and non-essential workers, and Munter said they would return when Serbia assured it could safeguard the diplomatic property.

However, the ambassador said he had no plans to leave Belgrade. Serbia has withdrawn its ambassador from Washington.



NATO chief warns Belgrade against "inflammatory remarks"

BRUSSELS, 24 February (Beta) - Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says the destruction of embassies in Belgrade is "completely unacceptable".

"I am very worried because of statements from some Serbian ministers, what happened in Belgrade is completely unacceptable. It's damaging Serbia's image abroad," the NATO secretary general told today's Le Monde.

Everyone must avoid making inflammatory statements when it comes to Kosovo, Scheffer advised, because "now we need to maintain the stability".

As for NATO's soldiers in the province, KFOR, Scheffer told the Parisian daily they were "ready for all scenarios", and could also receive backup from international troops in Bosnia, "if necessary".



Putin: Kosovo is terrible precedent

MOSCOW, 23 February (Tanjug, Interfax) - Vladimir Putin has described the recognition of Kosovo's unilaterally declared independence as "a terrible precedent."

"The independence of Kosovo is a terrible precedent. In effect, it breaks up the entire system of international relations, a system that has taken not even decades but centuries to evolve," the Russian president said as he hosted an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Moscow Friday.

"And undoubtedly, it may entail a whole chain of unpredictable consequences," Putin added.

Supporters of Kosovo independence "cannot foresee the results of what they are doing," he said.

"Ultimately, it is a double-edged sword, and the other edge will bash them on the head some time," Putin said.



Rice blames Serbian government for riots

WASHINGTON, 23 February (B92, Beta) Condoleezza Rice says the government in Belgrade is to blame for the ransacking of the U.S. embassy on Thursday.

The U.S. secretary of state in the Bush administration told journalists yesterday that the Serbian government did not manage to protect the embassies of the United States and other countries targeted by the protesters.

The embassy's non-essential staff has been ordered to leave Serbia. Belgrade withdrew its ambassador from Washington on Monday, when the United States recognized the Kosovo Albanians' unilateral declaration of independence, something Serbia rejects as a violation of international law and its sovereign borders.


"We hold the Serbian government responsible. We have made this very clear," Rice said, and continued, "We don't expect this to happen again".



Kosovo Serbs resume protests in north

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, 23 February (AP) Up to 2,000 Serb protesters chanting, "Kosovo is Serbia!" marched Saturday through Kosovska Mitrovica.

Their protest against the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence is in its sixth day.

UNMIK police in riot gear formed a cordon across the main bridge separating the northern Kosovo town's Serb and ethnic Albanian sides as some of the protesters hurled firecrackers, the AP says.



UN condemns violence

BELGRADE, NEW YORK, 22 February (B92, Beta, Tanjug) - Branislav Ristivojevic says that "the United States of America, not Serbia, are brutally violating international law."

Commenting the announcement of the U.S. ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad that he will be asking the UN Security Council to condemn the attacks on the American embassy in Belgrade last night, the Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS, spokesman said that the U.S. has violated the UN charter and Resolution 1244 by recognizing the unilateral independence declaration of Kosovo.

Khalilzad said that he is shocked by the attack on the American embassy in Belgrade, which is his country's "sovereign territory". He called "for a unanimously adopted statement, which will demonstrate the shock and condemnation and remind the Serbian government about its responsibility to protect diplomatic missions.”
The UN Security Council responded, condemning the attacks.

Meantime, the EU reacted to yesterday's events in Belgrade

"The embassies have to be protected, and that is the obligation of the country," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said, according to the BBC.

European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has also condemned the attacks on foreign embassies and companies in Belgrade, and called on the Serbian politicians to refrain from any statements that might further aggravate the situation. He called on the Serbian authorities to provide protection for diplomatic missions.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Alekseyev said Friday that the protest rally held Thursday in Belgrade against the unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence "demonstrated the unity of the Serb people on Kosovo".

Alekseyev condemned the incidents of violence on the margins of the rally as unjustified and unjustifiable.



One dead, up to 150 injured in riots

BELGRADE, 22 February (B92) - A peaceful rally in Belgrade that organizers say gathered 250,000 people turned into rioting yesterday.

Small groups are said to have broken from the main event, organized by the authorities to show that Serbia does not accept Kosovo Albanians' unilateral declaration of independence, to attack foreign embassies, banks and restaurants.

The Serbian police (MUP) riot and Gendarmerie units intervened to stop the violence. Up to 150 people have been treated for non-life threatening injuries, 35 of them police officers.

But there was also one fatality: a charred corpse was recovered from the U.S. embassy, which was set on fire when rioters forced their way in earlier in the evening.

The U.S. State Department has confirmed that none of the staff was present at the embassy during the incident, but that its security guards and Marines were there.

The violence in Belgrade began yesterday, while the massive rally was still ongoing in front of the Parliament Hall.

Those countries that have led the way in recognizing Kosovo's unilateral independence, and their businesses, were targeted.

A group of several hundred mostly young men, whom the media describes as hooligans, first attacked the Turkish embassy with stones, but the police there managed to disperse them.

Then, a second group headed toward the Kneza Milosa Street, which houses many foreign embassies, including that of the United States and Croatia.

No police were present in front of either at that point, and rioters reached the first building, forcing their way in. They climbed the balcony, took down the American flag, set it on fire, and replaced it with the Serbian flag.

Simultaneously, protesters ransacked the Croatian embassy and broke several windows on the German diplomatic premises.

A car was set on fire in front of the Canadian embassy, but the building itself was not attacked.

After the rioters set the U.S. embassy on fire, and the flames engulfed the first two floors, MUP sent in its special forces, Gendarmes in a dozen Hummer vehicles, who threw tear gas at demonstrators, and driving slowly down the street, pushed the protesters away. Many were also beaten by the police, and forced to lie on the street handcuffed.

Only after this, the fire fighters managed to reach the building on fire, to put it out shortly after.

Minor incidents were also reported in front of the British and Belgian embassies.

However, several journalists and television crews, including one Dutch and two Russian reporters, and a state television, RTS, crew, came under attack in the streets.

MUP restored order and took full control of the streets at 23:00 CET.



Dodik: International precedent created in case of Kosovo

BANJA LUKA, 21 February (Tanjug) - Republika Srpska (RS) Premier Milorad Dodik said in Banja Luka on Thursday that in the case of the unilateral declaration of the independence of Kosovo, a precedent has been created that undermines the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, a member of the United Nations.



Romania's participation in EULEX does not mean recognition

BUCHAREST, 21 February (Tanjug) - Romania's Foreign Minister Adrian Cioroianu said on Thursday that the participation of the country's policemen and Gendarmerie in EULEX, the EU mission which Serbia views as illegal, did not mean that Bucharest de facto acknowledged the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.



Solzhenitsyn urges Serbs to remain in Kosovo

MOSCOW, 21 February (Tanjug) - Russia's greatest living writer and Nobel Prize winner Alexandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn has addressed Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija through a letter published by Vecernje Novosti in which he called on them not to abandon their homes.



Checkpoints in north reopen, KPS leaves

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, PRISTINA, VIENNA, 20 February (B92, Beta, Tanjug) - The checkpoints in Jarinje and Brnjak, in northern Kosovo, were reopened to traffic at 15:00 CET Wednesday.
This was confirmed by a Kosovo police, KPS, spokesman in Pristina, who also said UNMIK and KFOR will control the traffic through the administrative line with central Serbia.

KPS will not be stationed at the checkpoints in Jarinje and Brnjak "until security conditions for this are created", it was also said.

Today, barbed wire was spread on the bridge over the Ibar River, separating the northern, Serb, and southern, Albanian, parts of Kosovska Mitrovica, the largest town in the area.

Speculation of a looming de facto partition of the province, which would, according to some reports, be signalled by a complete sealing off of all movement between the two parts of the town, is rife.

One good indicator of this will be the ability of the new EU mission to the province, EULEX, to deploy in the north. Both local Serbs and Belgrade reject it, while they welcome KFOR and UNMIK to continue with their work.



Jeremic voices strong criticism of U.S., EU

STRASBOURG, 20 February (B92, Beta, Tanjug) - Serbia's European future is at risk because of moves by some EU countries, Vuk Jeremic says.
The foreign minister from the ranks of President Boris Tadic's Democrats (DS) was speaking in Brussels today when he said that some EU states' decision to recognize Kosovo Albanians' unilateral declaration of independence has distanced Serbia from the Union, doing "permanent damage" to its relations with the EU.

Jeremic also accused the U.S. administration of exerting "great pressure on EU governments", and added this was the "decisive factor" in some European countries' decision to recognize Pristina's proclamation.

He condemned yesterday's unrest in northern Kosovo by saying that Belgrade "does not and never will support violence", but added that "understanding must be shown for Serbs and their feelings of being betrayed by those they considered friends, allies, and democrats."

This comes a day after his participation in an OSCE session in Vienna, as Jeremić continues to tour international organizations in order to reaffirm Serbia's opposition to any of them accepting Kosovo into their membership.



Lavrov blasts EU Kosovo mission as illegal

MOSCOW, 20 February (B92, Tanjug) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has declared the EU's police and justice mission to Kosovo illegal.

He told reporters that Brussels' "unilateral decision... is in breach of the highest international law," the BBC reported.

EU special envoy Peter Feith arrived in Pristina and began work Wednesday.

In Moscow, Itar-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying that "in the case of Kosovo and Metohija province, double standards are in effect, when unilateral moves are being made despite a United Nations Security Council resolution."



Kosovo: Turmoil in north, KFOR tries to block town

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, ZUBIN POTOK, 19 February (B92, Beta, Reuters, Tanjug) - A Kosovo police checkpoint near Kosovska Mitrovica was blown up this morning, it has been confirmed.
Local KIM radio says that the Jarinje point near the town, as well as the Brnjak administrative line crossing near Zubin Potok, were blown up.

Reports added that "several thousand Serbs in this way protested the ethnic Albanians' unilateral declaration of independence".

A dozen Kosovo police vehicles were also set on fire, KIM reports. None of the officials or policemen employed at the checkpoints were hurt.

A Serbian state flag was also hoisted at the crossing.

KFOR and UMNIK blocked all access roads to Leposavic, also a town on the administrative boundary, with their vehicles.

Local Serbs learned previously during the day that Albanian customs officers were coming to take over the boundary checkpoint, which caused their anger.

The Kosovo police say that there are no incidents in other parts of the province.

This comes after three explosions rattled northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica and Zvecan last night. No one was injured in the incidents.



Miliband: Independence "less dangerous"

LONDON, BERLIN, 19 February (B92, AFP, Tanjug) - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband Tuesday defended London's support for Kosovo's independence.

He said that recognizing the ethnic Albanians' unilateral secession that Serbia views as illegal, was "less dangerous than stifling secessionist feeling".

Miliband said Kosovo was a "unique case because of its recent history of ethnic cleansing, humanitarian catastrophe and the effect of the international community's inaction in the Balkans in the 1990s."

"It was not comparable to other would-be independent states as it had been run as a United Nations protectorate within Serbia for the last nine years," he added.

Britain and France declared their support for an independent Kosovo in Brussels on Monday. Germany, Italy and 14 other member states in the 27-member bloc declared their intention to follow suit.

But Miliband said he was "confident a majority of EU countries would recognize Kosovo in the coming week."



Parliament adopts gov't Kosovo decision

BELGRADE, 18 February (B92, Beta) - The parliament late Monday approved the government decision to annul illegal acts of provisional bodies in Kosovo.

It refers to the ethnic Kosovo Albanian's unilateral declaration of independence.

A total of 225 of the 234 present MPs voted in favour.

The Liberal-Democratic Party, Union of Vojvodina Hungarians and League of Social-Democrats of Vojvodina did not vote.

MUP's riot police and Gendarmes were securing the building as rioting in the capital, but also some other towns in Serbia, enters the second day.



UN SC meets in emergency session

BELGRADE, 18 February (B92) - An emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council has been called to discuss the Kosovo situation.

The meeting was called on the request of Moscow. President Boris Tadic left last night for New York, where he will address Security Council officials today.

Tadic earlier sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon calling on him to instruct the UN administration in Kosovo to annul the unilateral independence proclamation made by Kosovo Albanians and to dissolve the temporary Kosovo parliament.

The same stance was taken by Russian UN ambassador Vitaliy Churkin last night.

He told reporters last night that UN Resolution 1244 remains in force, and that Kosovo's unilateral moves are therefore unacceptable. Churkin also added that the UN would remain in Kosovo.

But the rift with six European countries and the United States last night was obvious as their representatives said after consultations that the Security Council could not agree on further steps in solving the Kosovo crisis and that the plan for supervised independence is the "only available solution for stability and security in the region."

U.S. and British ambassadors said that no countries supported the demand to nullify the unilateral independence proclamation of Kosovo.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said that the UN Security Council’s resolution 1244 still represents the legal framework for Kosovo.



Serbia annuls Kosovo independence declaration

BELGRADE, 17 February (B92, Beta) - PM Vojislav Kostunica addressed the nation today as ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared Kosovo's independence.

It a televised address from the seat of the Serbian government in Belgrade, Kostunica rejected this act as illegal, and declared it null and void.

Kostunica repeated that the government will annul all documents that relate to the creation of a false state on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Serbia.

Meanwhile, President Boris Tadic issued a statement to the media, where he says Serbia will do "everything to annul the self-styled and illegal declaration of Kosovo's independence."

Tadic called for "restraint and peace" from citizens, parties and the media several times in his statement, stressing that the lives and property of people are of utmost importance at this moment, and urged KFOR and UNMIK in the province to protect the Serbs there from possible outbreaks of violence by the ethnic Albanian majority there.



Ethnic Albanians declare Kosovo's independence

PRISTINA, BELGRADE, 17 February (B92, BBC) - Ethnic Albanians have today at 15:00 CET unilaterally declared independence of the Serbian province of Kosovo.

Belgrade has reacted with a televised address to the nation by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica. As expected and announced earlier this week, he declared such proclamations illegal, null and void, and rejected them, based on Serbia's right as an internationally recognized and sovereign member of the United Nations.

Sunday Kosovo's assembly in Pristina unanimously endorsed a unilateral declaration of independence.

The declaration, read by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, said Kosovo would be a "democratic country that respected the rights of all ethnic communities."

He said it would be built in accordance with the UN plan drawn by former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari - at the end of negotiations, which did not produce a deal.

But Serbian officials, backed by Russia, have made it clear that they intend to strengthen the state's presence in the northern, Serb-populated parts of the province following a unilateral declaration of independence, in what the news agencies yesterday said will result in a de facto partition of the province.

A number of Serbian cabinet ministers are also travelling to Kosovo today, to show support for the Serbs, who will almost certainly ignore proclamations from Pristina.

Yesterday, the EU decided to send its mission, EULEX, to replace the UN mission, UNMIK, with an initial mandate of two years.

Both Belgrade and Moscow rejected this move as illegal.

JEREMIC IN NEW YORK ON THURSDAY

BELGRADE, 13 February (Tanjug) - Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic on Thursday will attend a UN Security Council session, called on Serbia's request, in order to inform that Belgrade does not accept any illegal act of secessionism in Kosovo and Metohija.



BOTSAN-KHARCHENKO: RUSSIA JOINED SERBIA'S REQUEST

MOSCOW, 13 February (Tanjug) - Russia has joined Serbia's request for an urgent session of the UN Security Council on Kosovo and Metohija, Russian Foreign Ministry official Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko confirmed on Wednesday.



SERBIA REQUIRES SC SESSION ON KOSOVO, RUSSIA BACKS IT

NEW YORK, 13 February (Tanjug) - Serbia has officially demanded that the UN Security Council holds a special session on Thursday, at which the situation following the announced unilateral proclamation of Kosovo-Metohija independence would be discussed, and such a demand of Serbia has been backed by Russia as a permanent member of the SC.



PM URGES SERBS TO STAY IN "THEIR KOSOVO"

BELGRADE, 13 February (Tanjug) - Vojislav Kostunica has urged Serbs in Kosovo to stay “in their homes, in their province and in their Serbia."
The prime minister said that the government’s decision to annul Kosovo’s unilateral independence was Serbia's decision to reject once and for all a puppet state on its territory.

He said that as soon as the government adopted this decision, it would inform the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General of the nullification of all illegal acts pertaining to a declaration of unilateral independence.

"The final word of our common state and national policy is that no-one but Serbia may lay claim to the territory of Kosovo. No policy of force can deprive Serbia of that right, nor can Serbia be forced to renounce Kosovo under threats and blackmail," Kostunica underlined.

According to the prime minister, "at a time when Serbia is threatened by the province unilaterally declaring independence under the leadership of convicted terrorists and under the patronage of the U.S. and the EU, we must focus all our forces on unrelentingly and at all times showing that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia."

"Our people in Kosovo should stay and live in their homes, in their province and in their Serbia. For the government of Serbia, each and every man in Kosovo is an equal citizen of Serbia enjoying full rights, and it is our obligation to do absolutely everything to provide normal living conditions for our people in the province," he affirmed.



KOSOVO'S INDEPENDENCE CREATES PROBLEMS FOR GEORGIA

VIENNA, 13 February (Tanjug) - Georgia's new Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze has warned that Kosovo's independence would create problems for his country.



LAVROV: KOSOVO STAYS WITHIN UN SC JURISDICTION

GENEVA, 12 February (B92, Beta, Tanjug) - Russian FM Sergei Lavrov commented on the Kosovo developments today.

The status of Kosovo is within the jurisdiction of the United Nations Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said and warned against the possibility that a unilateral proclamation of the independence of the southern Serbian province could lead to the "collapse of the European project."

Russia will agree that the question of Kosovo is a matter of the European Union EU, but only when all of the Balkans, including Serbia within its present borders, is integrated within the Union, Lavrov said in Geneva, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"For the time being, Kosovo is still an international issue that remains within the authority of the UN Security Council," the Russian minister was adamant.

"The UN Security Council has universal jurisdiction and there can be no arbitrary approaches," Lavrov said.

"A unilateral proclamation of the independence of this province will inflict damage to the reputation of the UN Security Council and to its authority, and that should be clearly understood," Lavrov said.

"Any moving away on behalf of Europe from the principle of international legality would imply unpredictable consequences for the entire continent," he warned.

"Resolving the destinies if nations, proceeding exclusively from the motive of alleged solidarity or some other political purpose, would in essence mark a return to the dark times," the Russian foreign minister said.

"It will be sad if historians in the future point out that the unilateral proclamation of the independence of Kosovo marked the beginning of the downfall of the current European project," he said.

For its part, Russia has done everything possible on the issue of Kosovo, but it will not take part in the undermining of the legal foundations of modern Europe, in undermining the UN Charter, Lavrov said.

Earlier today, the chief of Russian diplomacy was quoted as saying that a unilateral declaration of the province's independence by its ethnic Albanians would threaten the security of Europe itself.

Lavrov also repeated his country's position that Kosovo "cannot be treated as a unique case."

Lavrov wondered what would happen to the Serbs in Kosovo, since it has been argued that Serbs and Albanians cannot live in the same state.

"They are saying that Serbs and Albanians cannot live together, and that this is why Kosovo needs to be separated from Serbia, but there are Serbs living in Kosovo as well."

"If one were to accept this thesis, what happens to the Serbs in Kosovo? There are no answers to these questions. Absolutely, double standards," Lavrov said, and then described this as "unacceptable, and irresponsible".

Speaking about the overall situation in Serbia, he said that the country "has its political system, government bodies, which were formed in a democratic way, via free elections."

"Moscow supports Serbia's democratic leadership, and maintains regular contact," Lavrov explained.

According to him Russia is ready to solve the Kosovo status problem based on the conditions accepted by Pristina and Belgrade.



EU STARTS DEBATE ON MISSION OPERATIONS PLAN

BRUSSELS, 11 February (Tanjug) - The European Union on Monday started discussion an Operations Plan, a document that, if adopted, would give a ''green light'' for the sending of the EU mission to Kosovo and Metohija, Tanjug learned from its sources within the EU Council in Brussels.



DAILY TELEGRAPH: KPC POSSIBLE CATALYST OF VIOLENCE

LONDON, 11 February (Tanjug) - With the growing probability that Kosovo-Metohija independence will be declared, the international forces in the southern Serbian province seem to be faced with a threat of danger, the catalyst of which could be the very formation the international community has created - the Kosovo Protections Corps (KPC), The Daily Telegraph from London reported on Monday.



"SERBIA WOULD WIN LEGAL ACTION OVER KOSOVO"

BELGRADE, 11 February (Tanjug) - Serbia has an excellent chance of winning a case against states recognizing Kosovo independence, says Thomas Fleiner.

The Serbian state team legal adviser for the Kosovo status process believes that Serbia would have an eighty percent chance of winning if it filed a lawsuit with The Hague-based International Court of Justice against countries that unilaterally recognized the province's independence.

"In the event of certain countries recognizing Kosovo independence unilaterally, Serbia has three options: to file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice, arbitrage and negotiations," Fleiner said in an interview for the Belgrade daily Glas, adding that, from his point of view, the best solution would be if Belgrade filed a lawsuit with the Court in the Hague because, as he put it, he was a hundred percent sure that unilateral declaration and recognition of Kosovo independence represented a legal violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

"I know some experts who claim that Serbia would win such a case, and I know some who claim it would not, but I believe that it has an 80 percent chance of victory," said Fleiner, who is also a director of the Institute of Federalism in Fribourg, Switzerland.



TADIC: SERBIA TO IMMEDIATELY ANNUL KOSOVO'S DECLARATION

MUNICH, 11 February (Beta) - President Boris Tadic yesterday finished his participation in a security conference in Germany.

Beta news agency quoted a statement the president made on sidelines of the Conference on Security Policy in Munich, saying that Serbia will annul any decision proclaiming Kosovo's independence "right away", and that it will enter a "legal procedure against the institutions which recognize it".

Tadic stressed that Serbia would also file suits against those governments that recognize Kosovo's independence, but he once again excluded the possibility of Serbia's military intervention or use of violence in Kosovo.

"I am reiterating that recognition of Kosovo is an illegal act, and that the law is absolutely on Serbia's side. The stability of the whole region is in question here, as well as long-term consequences in other regions, since there are more 'Kosovos' is the world, such as Nagorno Karabakh, South Ossetia, Abkhasia, Transnistria," Tadic said.

He also underlined that he expected all the countries in the region to abstain when it comes to recognition of Kosovo's independence.



IVANOV: SOLUTION IN AGREEMENT OF CONFLICT SIDES

MUNICH, 10 February (Tanjug) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov on Sunday warned that a unilateral independence of Kosovo and Metohija province, without the approval of Serbia, could cause a domino effect, and stressed that the real solution for the question of Kosovo and Metohija is an agreement between the two sides in this conflict.



RADMANOVIC WILL NOT VOTE FOR INDEPENDENT KOSOVO

BANJALUKA, 10 February (Tanjug) - Bosnia-Herzegovina Presidency member from Republika Srpska (RS) Nebojsa Radmanovic has said that, in the event of the recognition of a self-proclaimed state of Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina will not be able to recognize it, since such a decision is carried by the BiH Presidency by consensus, and they will not have his vote.



TADIC: SERBIA WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE INDEPENDENT KOSOVO

MUNICH, 9 February (Tanjug) - President Boris Tadic says Serbia will never recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Speaking in Munich today, Tadic added that the province’s independence could lead to unpredictable consequences not only for the region, but also for the entire world.

The president, who is taking part in the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, told reporters that he expected the west Balkan states to exercise maximum restraint regarding Kosovo, since their representatives know only too well the problems inherent there

"All governments and heads of state in the region should bear in mind that Kosovo is a serious problem, they know very well what the source of the problems there is, and also that any bad moves would have negative repercussions throughout the western Balkans," Tadic said after a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"Serbia will defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty using all diplomatic and legal means, but definitely not war," he underlined.

"Serbia will defend its territorial integrity with dignity, like a European country," Tadic said, pointing out that Serbia supported the territorial integrity of all the states in the region created following the conflicts of the 1990s.

"Serbia does not accept Kosovo's independence, it wants a resumption of negotiations and a compromise solution that will satisfy both sides," the president explained.

"A declaration of Kosovo independence would be an entirely illegal act," he emphasized, stressing that international law was on Serbia's side as well.

Speaking at the Conference he stressed that every international engagement in Kosovo must go through the UN Security Council, which was competent body in the case of Kosovo, as stipulated by Resolution 1244, and that the action via the Security Council guarantees the legality of the final decision.

"A precedent would be set were Serbia to have a part of its territory taken from it against its will—and that's what imposed independence for Kosovo essentially is—which would in turn lead to an escalation of many existing conflicts, a re-ignition of some frozen conflicts and provocation of who knows how many new conflicts," explained the president.

Serbia cannot accept "fragmentation" of its country, and in that sense "is no different from any other internationally recognized state," he stressed.

"Nor will we accept Serbia's isolation, as we take decisive steps towards fully-fledged membership of the EU," Tadic continued.

The president said that preservation of territorial integrity and close cooperation with Europe and the world were the essential principles of Serbian national interest and stressed that these would not change.

"In my opinion, serious talks on Kosovo are necessary now," he said, citing as his reasons the protection of Serbian heritage, the resumption of the international presence in Kosovo, and the building of a stable, democratic and multi-ethnic society in the province.

Tadic warned that if no talks were organized in the coming weeks, all three key sides in the Kosovo crisis—Belgrade, Pristina and the international community—would pay "an unacceptably high price", and that that was "something that none of us can afford."

"The optimal solution, of course, is for the whole of Serbia—Kosovo included—to become a member of the EU," said the president.

As far as global security was concerned, he reiterated that Serbia had expressed its willingness to take part in peace missions under the UN flag and added that he believed in Serbia's active engagement in the security domain, through participation in Euro-Atlantic structures like the Partnership for Peace.



KOSTUNICA: KOSOVO HAS NO PRICE

BELGRADE, 9 February (Tanjug) - Vojislav Kostunica says "Kosovo has no price" and that Serbia won’t approve its independence by signing an agreement with the EU.

"With its decision to send a mission to implement Kosovo's unilateral independence, the EU has twisted United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 which explicitly guarantees respect for Serbia's territorial integrity," the prime minister said in a statement for the Tanjug news agency.

Kostunica said that, in so doing, the EU was grossly violating the UN Charter and was re-tailoring Serbia's internationally recognized borders by sending a mission.

"Certainly it would suit the EU most if Serbia, in the form of some sort of signed agreement, gave its approval for the biggest legal violation of a country’s borders since the UN was founded, the body that guarantees all states the inviolability of their borders," he warned.

"Serbia will not give such a signature for Kosovo’s independence," Kostunica underlined.

"Under strong outside pressure from the U.S., Europe is, in the case of Serbia, trampling the fundamental principles on which it rests. Therefore, Serbia is not against Europe, but Europe has, unfortunately, against its own principles, yielded before a policy of force," the prime minister said.

"At the same time, representatives of ethnic Albanian separatists in the interim institutions, who have in fact been condemned to long-term prison sentences by the state of Serbia for terrorism, are announcing the declaration of Kosovo's unilateral independence under EU and U.S. auspices,” he continued.

"However, everyone must know that this fabricated state will never exist as far as Serbia is concerned, and that Kosovo will always be Serbia. Kosovo has no price and Serbia will not accept any offers of compensation," Kostunica said.

This is not the first time that Serbia has been robbed by force, he pointed out. "This is a time of force, but Serbia’s historical experience says that the time of law and justice always has its day," the prime minister concluded.