Tadic: Serbia Does Not Accept Ban's Report

[Musaka]

UNITED NATIONS, June 20 (Tanjug) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said in New York on Friday that Serbia cannot accept the report and proposals of United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on a reconfiguration of the UNMIK, and stressed that the Security Council is the only institution that is authorized legitimately to change the composition of the international presence in Kosovo.

The Republic of Serbia maintains that the direction of action proposed in the report is not conducive to a compromise solution for the future status of its southern province, Tadic said. That is why Serbia cannot accept the report of the secretary-general, he said, addressing the session of the Security Council dedicated to Ban's proposal on a reconfiguration of the UN mission in the Serbian province.

Until the very end of the process of the determination of the future status of Kosovo that is envisaged under UN Security Council Resolution 1244, the international community, spearheaded by the UN, must maintain its central role in the preservation of peace and stability in Kosovo and Metohija, the Serbian president said.

The UN Security Council is the only body that can make a decision about the reconfiguration which is mentioned in the report and the letter of the UN secretary-general, Tadic said.

The Security Council is the only institution with the authority legitimately to change the composition of the international presence in Kosovo, as it is clearly defined under articles 5 and 19 of Resolution 1244, Tadic pointed out.

The unilateral declaration of independence constitutes a direct violation of the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and other fundamental principles of international order, he said.

He reminded the ambassadors that the UN SC Resolution 1244 and Chapter 7 of the Charter are binding all UN member-states to respect Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Tadic stressed that Serbia has ruled out the use of force and exercises its right to use peaceful, diplomatic and political means to prevent the so-called independent Kosovo from becoming a part of the world community of independent states.

He emphasized that Serbia will never recognize Kosovo independence and that it will continue to seek legal ways for bridging differences, bringing opposed stands closer and finding a compromise solution to resolve the historical conflict between Serbs and Albanians.

Tadic noted that Ban's report on UNMIK and the letter he received from him on June 12 refer to a "new reality" in Kosovo following the unilateral declaration of independence and to a so-called "Constitution" passed by the interim parliament of the Kosovo-Metohija province.

That illegal act is aimed at implementing Ahtisaari's proposal which has never been approved by the UN SC and therefore has no legal weight, Tadic said.
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