New Kosova Report

Serbia "won't Use Force" in Kosovo

Friday, 04 January 2008

Presevo _ Serbia’s pro-Western President, Boris Tadic, has said his country will not use its military to keep independence-seeking Kosovo within its borders. During a visit on Wednesday to military outposts in the volatile region of southern Serbia, just outside Kosovo, Tadic said that Belgrade “will never send its soldiers to fight senseless wars”.

He added: “Many people would like to see Serbia dragged into a war… but the democratic authorities will never do this.”

Tadic’s visit came amidst campaigning for the presidential election scheduled for January 20.

The balloting will pit Tadic, who favours country’s rapid integration with the European Union, against Tomislav Nikolic, acting leader of the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party.

In an address to the troops, Tadic said Serbian military intervention in Kosovo would lead to a confrontation with the international community and the final loss of the disputed territory.

"We will not take steps which are doomed to failure, no matter how much extremists on both sides would like that [conflict]," he said.

Tadic vowed that Belgrade would continue to seek a “mutually-acceptable solution” for Kosovo’s long-term status which would “give Serbia a clear prospect of European integration without territorial changes and a breach of its sovereignty."

Serbia wants to join the EU, but in late December, its parliament adopted a resolution that made it clear it would only pursue that goal if its EU accession would involve Serbia’s territory in its entirety, in other words, including Kosovo.

The resolution also warned the EU and the United States not to back the Kosovar Albanians who are expected to declare independence from Serbia in the near future.

Kosovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian entity, has been under UN administration since the end of 1998-99 conflict.

Serbia backed by its ally, Russia, opposes Kosovo’s independence and the government in Belgrade is offering it broad autonomy.

After the failure of nearly two years of internationally-sponsored talks at the end of 2007, Serbia and Russia said they wanted more negotiations over Kosovo under UN auspices.

Tadic whose ruling Democratic Party is frequently at odds with its coalition partner, the conservative Democratic Party of Serbia led by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, warned that there were still isolationist political forces active in his country.

“They will exist forever, but it is of the utmost importance to defeat them and continue EU integration,” Tadic said.