Rossiiskaya Gazeta Serbia draws up plan to return Kosovo
The parliament of Serbia has approved a resolution on further steps with regard to Kosovo. The document was endorsed with an overwhelming majority of votes, including from much of the opposition, which points to a common approach to the issue in Serbian society. The MPs obliged the government to draft a resolution to be submitted to the UN General Assembly this fall. They also empowered the cabinet of ministers to take all necessary diplomatic measures to get it approved in New York. The MPs believe that a long-term and mutually acceptable decision and one not contradicting the Serbian constitution should be worked out on Kosovo. The efforts should be exclusively peaceful, and the decision a compromise reached through negotiations. The resolution is a response to last week's advisory ruling by the U.N. International Court of Justice on whether or not Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence conflicts with the standards of international law. Not surprisingly, the court's ruling evoked resonance throughout the world, especially in Serbia. The Serbian cabinet of ministers and Serbian President Boris Tadic issued sharply negative statements, saying they did not recognize the court's ruling and would work by all available diplomatic means for the territory's return to the country's jurisdiction. Speaking in parliament, Tadic said the decision had been a heavy blow to Serbia. The president said Belgrade is prepared to discuss any proposals on Pristina save two: a military operation and a rupture of ties with the European Union. Radoslav Stojanovic, a Serbian professor of international law, believes there are over 80 cases in the world where ethnic or national groups want to separate, and the ICJ's conclusion equips them with legal arguments. He thinks the judges have sabotaged the importance of international law and set up a negative precedent. Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh responded differently. Abkhazia's Prime Minister Sergei Shamba and president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Bako Saakyan both welcomed the ruling. They believe the arguments of these republics have a solid backing. But, Shamba said, should Abkhazia turn to the ICJ, it is not certain that the judges in The Hague would pass a similar ruling, since the West follows a policy of double standards. Gazeta.ru http://en.rian.ru/papers/20100728/159981708.html _______________________________________________ News mailing list News@antic.org http://lists.antic.org/mailman/listinfo/news
