The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, stated today in front of the UN Security Council that there is no possibility for self-proclaimed Kosovo to become a member of the UN and said that the Association of Serbian Municipalities must be formed or the agreement will not be successful.
Dacic said that everyone is aware of the consequences of supporting the unilateral declaration of Kosovo’s independence, which led to turbulence in all international organizations.
In his address in New York, he pointed out that Serbia will continue to insist on the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities /ZSO/. “The community of Serbian municipalities must be formed immediately or nothing will come of the agreement,” said Dacic.
The head of Serbian diplomacy indicated that Serbia is sure that the prime minister of the temporary institutions in Pristina, Aljbin Kurti, will not fulfill what was agreed because his goal is to completely expel the Serbs and erase the Serbian identity, reports RTS.
Dacic emphasized that in Kosovo and Metohija, the Serbian Orthodox and spiritual heritage is claimed or falsely presented as Byzantine or Illyrian. “The erasure of Serbian identity is an obvious goal of Pristina,” said Dacic.
Dacic emphasized that today the UNMIK report does not represent a basis on which the members of this body could create a picture of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, pointing out that there is an atmosphere of fear and pressure towards Serbs and other non-Albanians on the ground.
“Kosovo and Metohija has become an almost ethnically pure territory in the past two decades,” said Dacic and emphasized that the state of Serbia will do everything to ensure a dignified life for the remaining Serbs and others in the southern Serbian province.
France and Great Britain: Support of ZSO, reconsider the mandate of Umnik
Today, France and Great Britain pointed out before the UN Security Council that the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities is extremely important, that the escalation of the situation must be avoided, and the need to review the work of UNMIK was also pointed out.
France considers that the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities is extremely important and in the previous period informed the highest representatives of the authorities in Belgrade and Pristina, said Deputy French Ambassador to the UN Natali Estival-Broadhurst.
She said that Belgrade and Pristina must avoid any escalation of the situation, and that the priority is “the implementation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities and the return of Serbs to institutions.”
“There is no other way for either Belgrade or Pristina to reach a mutual agreement,” she said.
The political coordinator of the British mission to the UN, Fergus Eckersley, emphasized that the institutions in the north of Kosovo and Metohija and the Association of Serbian Municipalities must be supported.
He pointed out that London fully supports Resolution 12 44, but that the situation on the ground has changed in the meantime.
“It should be said that it is time for the Security Council to take a new look at the way in which the UN mission in Kosovo can continue its work and that UNMICA must adapt,” Eckersley said.
Japan has also requested that the mandate of UNMIK be reviewed, stating that the responsibilities of the missions overlap in Kosovo and Metohija.
The representative of the self-proclaimed Kosovo, Donika Gervala Schwartz, said that UNMIK is the main source of instability, and she blamed the UN representatives that 90 percent of the report presented to the Security Council “is not accurate”, accusing Belgrade of “close cooperation with Russia”.
“Unmik has become a factor of destabilization in the region and this report proves it,” said Gervala Schwartz, who blames “the alliance of Russia and Serbia for the destabilization of the region.”
Russia: Agreement between Belgrade and Pristina respecting Resolution 1244
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasiliy Nebezja said that Russia is in favor of an agreement between Belgrade and Pristina based on Resolution 1244, which must be approved by the UN Security Council.
“Pristina, with the help of the West, is trying to take control of the Serbian communities, whose rights, it seems, no one cares about. In this way, a purely Albanian community is being created,” said Nebezja, repeating the data on the slow and unsatisfactory number of Serbian and other non-Albanian returnees to Kosovo and Metohija.
Speaking about the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities, Nebenzja said that Pristina is completely uninterested in the negotiation of that agreement, and that it is trying to reduce it to the level of a non-governmental organization.
Russia believes that UNMIK’s optimism about the agreement reached in Ohrid is exaggerated, because Pristina, not long after, by holding local elections in the north of Kosovo, raised tensions again.
In this way, the voice of the Serbs from the north of Kosovo was silenced and the process of usurpation of the territory continued, said Nebenzja, warning the representative of Pristina not to deal with matters that do not concern her or Pristina.
He recalled that after the arrival of Aljbin Kurti (prime minister of the self-proclaimed Kosmet), more than 300 ethnically motivated incidents were registered without a proper judicial epilogue, and accused the West of “bringing the countries of the Balkans under the auspices of its economic and military bloc”.
America for the rule of law and stability in the Western Balkans
The USA, together with its European partners, continues to protect democracy, multi-ethnic societies and the rule of law in the Western Balkans, it was said at the session of the UN Security Council.
“It is a critical issue. We support the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina under the mediation of the EU, we appreciate the efforts of the European representatives Jozep Borelj and Miroslav Lajčak in mediation”, he said and added that Belgrade and Pristina took an important key step by signing the Brussels Agreement.
“We encourage both sides to implement commitments and bypass crises through dialogue. We hope to see more of this spirit at the next meeting on May 2,” he said.
The American representative added that the US appreciates that Belgrade and Pristina have reached certain agreements and welcomes the development of the situation. Washington calls on the two parties to respect the agreement, as well as to support the formation of the JSO in accordance with the Constitution of the self-proclaimed Kosovo.
“The next critical moment of the process, of which the Ohrid agreement is a key part, is the establishment of the Community of Serbian Municipalities,” said the US representative.
The American representative also said that “it is time for the UN to find an appropriate role for the UN in Kosovo”.
“We believe that this mission has fulfilled its mandate a long time ago,” said the American diplomat.
China, Brazil and UAE support Umnik
Deputy Chinese Ambassador to the UN Geng Shuang warned at the UN Security Council session dedicated to the work of UNMIK about recent ethnically motivated incidents, stating that it is necessary to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
He welcomed the role of UNMIK, stating that the importance of this mission in building multi-ethnic cooperation and other areas of society cannot be replaced.
The representative of Brazil said that this country supports and reminds of the importance of forming the Union of Serbian Municipalities in accordance with the Brussels Agreement.
Also, Brazil believes that it is necessary to respect cultural and historical heritage and freedom of movement.
The representative of Brazil said that Brazil supports UNMIK, because it believes that it has an important role in preventing conflicts, and he condemned the presence of Kosovo forces in the Malvinas and the Falklands, emphasizing that it is not in accordance with the existing resolutions.
The United Arab Emirates welcomed the role of UNMIK in building mutual dialogue, understanding and building trust, stating that it has proven this countless times in the Middle East.
Brazil also supported the stay of the UN Mission in Kosovo. “The local elections in Kosovo, which were held without the presence of Serbs, are an indication of how complex the conflicts are on the ground, not only in those municipalities but throughout Kosovo and Metohija,” said the representative of the UAE.
Russian ambassador to the UN and chairman of the UN Security Council, Vasilij Nebezja, rejected the accusations made by the representative of Pristina, Donika Gervala Schwartz, regarding the speech in English.
“If you wanted to speak in Albanian, we would have allowed you to,” said the Russian ambassador.
SRNA