Kosovo: EU reacts with 'anger' over Serb UN resolution Belgrade, 30 July (AKI) - The European Union has reacted with anger and surprise to the Serbian government’s submission of a resolution on Kosovo to the UN General Assembly, local media reported on Friday.
The government last Monday won parliamentary support for its policies on Kosovo after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled last week that declaration of Kosovo independence by majority ethnic Albanians two years ago wasn’t contrary to international law. Pro-European president Boris Tadic told parliament that Belgrade would carry the fight against Kosovo independence to the UN General Assembly and would submit a resolution for new talks on Kosovo in coordination with the EU. But several EU ambassadors told reporters that they were consulted on the text of a proposed resolution on Tuesday, after the document was already sent to the UN General Assembly. “We were surprised when we learned later that day that Serbia had already submitted a draft resolution to the UN,” British ambassador Steven Wordsworth was quoted as saying by Belgrade daily Politika. “It doesn’t seem to make much sense that Serbia and the EU confront each other in New York, while Serbia at the same time claims that it wants to become a member of the EU,” Wordsworth added. Serbian foreign minister Vuk Jeremic said he rushed the draft resolution to New York to put it on the agenda before Kosovo ethnic Albanians submitted their own draft. But several EU ambassadors said they might now consider inking their own resolution to counter Belgrade’s move. A total of 69 countries, including the United States and 22 EU members, have recognized Kosovo so far. But Kosovo foreign minister Skender Hiseni said scores of other countries have promised to recognize Kosovo after the ICJ ruling. Carefully worded Belgrade’s draft says that unilateral secession was contrary to international law and calls for new talks on Kosovo. But Serbian opposition leaders criticized the proposal, saying it was too ambiguous and didn’t accent UN Security Council Resolution 1244, which treats Kosovo as being a part of Serbia. After talks with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Thursday, Jeremic said Serbia faced an uphill battle in New York. “Under new circumstances, it will be exceptionally hard to win a majority in the UN General Assembly,” Jeremic said. http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=3.1.757346197 _______________________________________________ News mailing list News@antic.org http://lists.antic.org/mailman/listinfo/news
