24 May 2007 | 16:41 | Source: B92

"Unilateral independence means nothing to Serbia"

BELGRADE -- Serbia will nullify any document attempting to create another state on its territory, the Serbian PM has said.

Prime minister Vojislav Kostunica in a statement to the FoNet news agency
described the U.S.-sponsored draft resolution for Kosovo as a direct breach
of the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law, the
government reported on its web site.

"I believe that Russia, a permanent Security Council member, has a
principled stance equal to that of Serbia according to which a UN member
country cannot have its internationally recognized borders altered against
its will," Kostunica said.

The prime minister announced that in the upcoming period, Serbia will
strongly insist that the EU and all European institutions strictly adhere to
the respect of Serbia's territorial integrity, a rule which applied to other
European states.

He stressed that within its regional cooperation, Serbia would also insist
that all states in the region respected its internationally recognized
borders, since Serbia without exception was doing the same with reference to
all state borders in the region.

"This is an indispensable prerequisite for any form of cooperation in order
to ensure peace, stability and prosperity of the entire region," Kostunica
remarked

"Since the Security Council will not allow for a portion of Serbia, as it
would mean the violation of the UN Charter and the colapse of the entire
international order, it is of particular importance to draw attention to the
peril of the very notion of declaring unilateral independence in Kosovo
against the UN Resolution 1244," the prime minister argued.

Kostunica warned that the Serbian government would "immediately annul" any
document according to which another state might be created on the territory
of Serbia.

"Every Serbian citizen in the province must know very well that unilateral
independence simply does not exist and means nothing to Serbia," the prime
minister said.

He recalled that so far there had been several such attempts by ethnic
Albanian separatists which had no meaning for the state of Serbia.

"Even if we assume, for example, that just yesterday Albanian separatists
declared unilateral independence, our answer is that each of our citizens in
Kosovo must absolutely reject and ignore such illegal and invalid acts and
know that the province is an integral and unalienable part of Serbia," he
stressed.

"Kosovo residents are full-fledged Serbian citizens," Kostunica underlined
adding that "their government, their parliament and their state
institutions, according to the Serbian Constitution, were situated in
Belgrade."

He explained that this obliges state institutions to provide them with
employment, health care, education and all other facilities.

The Ministry for Kosovo-Metohija was formed due to the Serbian government's
heightened concern for the province, Kostunica said.