Uncertain Kosovo Future
July 17, 2007
The blueprint drawn up by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari does not guarantee Serbia's territorial integrity or sovereignty, Kostunica said after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
He said the plan, aimed at settling Kosovo's political future by possibly granting it independence, would set a dangerous precedent and endanger peace and stability in the Balkans if it is approved.
A draft UN resolution on the proposals, supported by the United States and the European Union, was rejected by Serbian ally Russia during closed-door talks in New York on Monday.
Kostunica says UN plan "unacceptable"
Diplomats said Russia demanded that Belgrade and Kosovo's capital Pristina first agree on the text before the council could take a vote on the draft to extend negotiations another 120 days.
Kostunica said no new Security Council resolution or a set timeframe for talks was needed to restart the negotiations.
Calling the UN plan unacceptable, he said Serbia would lose 15 per cent of its territory if it gained approval and a second Albanian nation would be established on its land.
There was plenty of scope for "an unconventional solution in the form of a compromise," the Serbian prime minister said without elaborating.
Germany prepared for broader talks
Merkel said Germany believed the Ahtisaari blueprint remained the basis for a solution but did not want to see a divisive UN vote on the issue and was therefore prepared to entertain the idea of fresh talks between Serbia and the Kosovo leadership.
Kosovo and its 2 million population, 90 per cent of whom are Albanian, has been under UN administration since a NAT0-orchestrated air war stopped a 1999 Serb crackdown on separatists in the province.
Moscow had threatened to use its veto to thwart independence on the ground that other options remained open to settle the dispute. Belgrade has said it would give special autonomy to Kosovo, but rejects full independence.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, fearing that Kosovo's Albanians would unilaterally declare independence, urged them on Monday to instead let the Security Council settle the issue.
In addition to Kosovo, Merkel and Kostunica also discussed bilateral relations and the Stabilization and Security Agreement that Serbia hopes to have in place with the European Union in October as a prelude towards full EU membership.