Jeremic: Kosovo will never become a UN member
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has said that Kosovo will never become a member of the United Nations, and cautioned of instability in the Balkans in case that the province's independence be proclaimed unilaterally.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, October 18, 2007
Jeremic said that Kosovo having a seat in the U.N. "is certainly something we cannot envisage under any circumstances."
He reminded that a recommendation of the Security Council was required for UN membership, and that in this case, something like that could not be expected, alluding to Russia's firm opposition to Kosovo's independence.
Jeremic said the other prerogative Serbia is unwilling to give to the Albanians is "fully fledged" control of foreign policy - although the province would be allowed "full access" to foreign financial institutions and the ability open foreign representational offices "for the running of its own affairs."
He added that Serbia is proposing that Kosovo should be fully demilitarized, in a way that would be supervised "by the international military presence, which is likely to stay there anyway."
Serbia's foreign minister said that "only 25 minutes" were needed to resolve the Kosovo issue, adding that the only problem was the deadline.
"If we have a deadline and the option that after that date one side will win, then the only thing that side will do is wait", the Serbian foreign minister explained.
Jeremic warned of the consequences of a unilateral proclamation of Kosovo's independence after December 10, which would be a signal that the rules of the UN were no longer in force.
