The European Courier in cooperation with Foreign Policy Association presents:

SERIOUS SECURITY CHALLENGE FOR THE REGION - February 25, 2008

- an interview with Mr. Pavle Jevremovic, Permanent Representative of Serbia to the

United Nations

Watch video here.

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Sebastian Aulich: Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Mr. Vuk Jeremic, suggested on February 21 in

his address to the European Parliament, that Serbia will break off diplomatic relations with

all countries, which recognized Kosovo’s independence or are going to do so. Is it going

to be a permanent breaking off of the diplomatic relations?

Pavle Jevremovic: First, let’s be precise it was an address to the Council of Europe. As far as I know he did not mention breaking off diplomatic relations but only temporarily recalling ambassadors for consultations. It means lowering of the level of diplomatic communication, but definitely not breaking off. It will be for some time, it is difficult to say if that would be for two weeks or for a couple of months.

SA: Does Serbia expect those countries to recall their ambassadors as well?

PJ: No, it’s not a request and most of the ambassadors will remain at their posts. As far as I know the situation now.

SA: Isn't the recalling of Serbia’s ambassadors going to increase Serbia’s diplomatic isolation?

PJ: Recalling, as you rightly said, is going to lead to isolation. But we are not recalling the ambassadors. They are just called back home for consultations. We hope that, as the situation will develop, that some of those ambassadors, the most of them will go back to their posts at respective countries.

SA: Serbia has been aiming at being a candidate for the membership in the European Union. Has anything changed since so many European states recognized Kosovo’s independence?

PJ: Definitely it may make our accession process more complicated. As you know, the European Union couldn’t take a unified stand on Kosovo, because it is a very serious issue, violation of number of provisions of international law, UN Charter, Helsinki document and so forth. Simply, Serbia is a democratic country and all of a sudden part of its territory is being partitioned. Not all countries can accept that. Our accession to the European Union was a priority for Serbian government after democratic changes in 2000. And now the European Union stepped in to finish the process that was started by somebody else before and this makes situation complicated. Our public now sees that the European Union is actually executing a policy of partition of Serbia. That confusion, contradiction should be sorted out somehow. Membership in the European Union remains absolute priority for Serbia but obviously times are complicated and we don’t know how this development will go on and if it will take some more time than we thought.

SA: We have seen that Serbia’s nation has been very disappointed with Kosovo’s independence, there have been riots and demonstrations. Does it mean Serbians can reject EU membership in a national referendum?

PJ: It’s too early to say. So far, at the time of secession of Kosovo, EU membership was broadly supported by the public by some 80% or so. It may go down now but it depends on the developments in the future. We are disappointed that our traditional friends like France or Britain supported Kosovo’s independence. But for example Spain refrained from recognizing Kosovo and at those public meetings in Belgrade you could found banners saying “Espana Gracias!”.

SA: What specific diplomatic measures does Serbia intend to utilize to restore its sovereignty in the region and on the international arena? Specifically, at the United Nations?

PJ: First and foremost we insist that the United Nations should remain an institutional body where the Kosovo issue should be settled. Decision must be brought by the Security Council. We do not accept the European Union entering into Kosovo without approval of the Security Council. The United Nations remain the main avenue for settling the Kosovo issue. We are not going to recognize Kosovo as an independent state and we will insist on political means. Therefore the violence is excluded as a method of dealing with Kosovo. The present violent incidents are very unfortunate and absolutely contrary to the government’s policies.

SA: But isn’t that the United Nations is unable to deal with the issue? We had UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which reaffirmed Serbia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but despite this Resolution approximately 80 countries around the world recognized Kosovo’s independence.

PJ: I don’t know the latest number of countries, which recognized Kosovo. I don’t believe it is that high but obviously this process will go on. For us, Resolution 1244 remains absolute cornerstone in dealing with Kosovo. We believe that with careful and persistent action the Security Council will take more balanced position and will be able to intervene and act actually to settle the case.

SA: Last week we heard some politicians in Republika Srpska, which is a part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, that they have been considering following Kosovo’s example and declaring independence. Would Serbia recognize Republika Srpska as an independent state?

PJ: So far this issue is not on the table but what actually made those politicians to say so, were the double standards. We invested enormous effort in keeping Bosnia-Herzegovina together and all of a sudden the same principles appear not to be relevant in Kosovo. So people say “why not?, if hypothetically the majority of Serbs declared to be independent they should be given the same right”. I am just comparing the two approaches.

SA: Last weekend some of the Serbia’s officials said that the United States is to be blamed for the crisis in the region. How should we interpret those statements?

PJ: Unfortunately it is an effect of life. The United States has been very firm and unyielding to anything else but independence for Kosovo and without any delay. That’s actually a disappointment for many people in Belgrade. We counted on the United States and considered the United States to be a friend, but life went into different direction.

SA: Some of the former U.S. officials last week expressed their opinion that Kosovo’s independence is a natural result, outcome of ethnical cleansing by Slobodan Milosevic. What do you think about those statements?

PJ: We do not subscribe to it. The present system in Belgrade is democratic. Institutions are based on free and fair elections, the parliament, the government and so forth. And now this approach has pushed us back in a conflict with the United States and the European Union. But we do not want to be in conflict with the United States and the European Union. Quite the opposite, we count on the United States and the European Union to help us in transition and in our European dream in the future.

SA: Serbia does not agree to recognize Kosovo and will not. Is Serbia going to help Kosovo economically? Is there going top be any kind of cooperation?

PJ: At present it is too early to say. This is actually what we tried to explain to our interlocutors in the European Union, in Brussels. Serbia can play a major role in economic and social rehabilitation of Kosovo but under consensus. Now Serbia is excluded. I don’t think that at this moment each ministry of Serbia drafted its own plan of action in case of unilateral declaration of independence, which we are not going to recognize. But I believe that in the course of time some pragmatic formulas will be worked out. After all Serbia has suffered a lot because of politics of sanctions and Serbian people have suffered a lot. So we do not want to impose any sanctions; and remember that Serbs live in Kosovo as well. Situation at the moment is very volatile and it will take some time to sort it out. There have been warnings from high officials in Washington that Serbia should not exercise some of the extreme measures, but those measures are being contemplated in the media, however not by responsible politicians.

SA: Do you believe that Serbian minority in Kosovo could be discriminated because they are against Kosovo’s independence?

PJ: They are already discriminated. For example, Serbian farmers in Kosovo were not able to sell, what they produced, to their Albanian fellow countrymen so the Serbian government had to buy it and sell it somewhere else. This is why we complain so bitterly about unilateral independence. Standards are not yet achieved in Kosovo so there will be problem and this sort of discrimination will continue. Not because Serbs refuse to recognize Kosovo but because that discrimination already exists. Presently there are some statements by Kosovo’s Albanian politicians is some more tolerant tones but it remains to be seen how it is in practice.

SA: Russia is the closest supporter of Serbia in Kosovo crisis and recently there have been very strong statements by Russia made at NATO, also Vladimir Putin said that international law system and international order are collapsing. Should we expect escalation of the crisis? What do such strong statements mean?

PJ: These are strong statements because this is a very serious breach of international law and serious challenge for the security of the region. The Balkans are still recovering from the tragedy of the collapse of Yugoslavia. We perceive Russian position as a barrier to further deterioration. Our views on political and legal implications of Kosovo issue are identical. Russia is not the only player in this game, other countries are as well, so we need to see how this international interaction will develop. Serbia insist on peaceful settlement.

SA: What if peaceful settlement will not be possible? Is Serbia going to use force to restore its integrity?

PJ: Definitely not. Peaceful means actions at UN, OECD, our accession to Europe, regional cooperation. We shall use all possible avenues to correct or stabilize the situation that was created by unilateral declaration of independence.

SA: Just after the declaration of independence, Serbian authorities brought charges against some of the Kosovo’s leaders. Does it mean that those people are going to be arrested once they go to Serbia?

PJ: That’s a very sensitive issue and another part of a complicated picture seen in the region. Some of Kosovo’s leaders, actually, have very reach criminal record, either as ordinary criminals or as war criminals. Obviously, the Hague Tribunal was not as equally effective in Kosovo and now the problem remains. One should keep in mind that for war crimes there is no statutory limitation. It must be dealt in the future somehow.         

Conducted on February 25, 2008, Manhattan, New York