Kosovo to set independence date
Serbia says endorsing secession would be “disaster of unfathomable proportions”.
Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia’s prime minister, said an independent Kosovo would be a “puppet state” that would be a great humiliation for his country.
In New York, Vuk Jeremic, the Serbian foreign minister, warned the Security Council that any endorsement of independence for Kosovo would be “a disaster of unfathomable proportions”.
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“Not now. Not in a year. Not in a decade. Never” Vuk Jeremic, Serbian foreign minister |
Jeremic said Serbia, like its close ally Russia, saw Kosovo’s planned secession as a violation of international law and would never accept it.
“We shall never recognise Kosovo’s independence. Not now. Not in a year. Not in a decade. Never,” he said.
“For Kosovo and Metohija shall remain a part of Serbia forever.”
The closed-door security council meeting was called by Russia at Serbia‘s request.
‘Null and void’
Jeremic said the government would move to declare Pristina’s act of declaring independence “null and void”.
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| The province is just days away from declaring its independence [AFP] |
“We shall undertake all diplomatic, political, and economic measures designed to impede and reverse this direct and unprovoked attack on our sovereignty.”
But he ruled out using violence, vowing to “bring a peaceful settlement to the Kosovo crisis”.
But Serbia‘s threats and Moscow’s disapproval appear to have done little to derail plans in Kosovo, where Hashim Thaci, the prime minister, has given strong indications that independence will be declared in the coming days.
The security council is deeply divided on the issue of Kosovo’s future, with Russia opposed to the secession while Britain, France and most members of the European Union support the Kosovo Albanians, who constitute 90 per cent of the population in the province.