[Crvena zvezda]

ZOBEL APOLOGISES
April 12, 2007
YU

German Ambassador in Belgrade Andreas Zobel on Thursday apologised for his statements made at the Forum for International Relations of the European Movement in Serbia and added that, regardless of how media had carried them, they represented his personal view, rather than the position of the European Union or the German government.

At a special news conference at the German Embassy in Belgrade Zobel apologised for his vague statements which had caused the misunderstanding and created the impression that he did not have understanding for his host country.

Zobel said that he would like to clarify once again that he neither said nor believed that Hungary had historic aspirations towards Vojvodina or that it planned to express them.

He said that responding to the questions of participants in the Forum he had voiced his personal analysis, rather than the stand of the German government or the European Union and added that all Wednesday statements, whether carried in the right or wrong way, could be attributed only to him.

He said that the EU and German stand on Kosovo was well known.

Our goal is peace and stability in the Western Balkans and that's why we urge a solution that would take into account the justified interest of the population of Kosovo, he said.

Kosovo is a sui generis case which cannot be transferred to other areas in the region or the world, the ambassador said.

Journalists who attended the news conference could not ask additional questions and Zobel explained this by saying that he did not want things to go any further.