Eurasia Press & News
MPs of the Serbian parliament would be discussing further actions of the state in the wake of the ICJ’s decision.
The court last week said in its advisory opinion that the Kosovo Albanian unilateral independence declaration was not violating international law, since it had no provisions preventing such declarations; however, the top UN court would not state its position on the right to self-determination or secession.
The court’s opinion will be sent to the UN General Assembly.
The Serbian government is proposing that a resolution be submitted to the UN General Assembly in September, which would open up the possibility of new negotiations for a solution of compromise for Kosovo if adopted.
The draft of the resolution is expected to be presented to parliament by Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić. President Boris Tadić and the chief of the Serbian legal team at the ICJ, Dušan Bataković, have also been invited to attend the session.
The document, in which the government states that new negotiations with the Kosovo Albanian leadership is the only way to solve the Kosovo crisis, would be the only topic discussed at Monday’s session.
The draft states that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) did not answer the essential question of the legality of the Kosovo Albanian attempt to secede from Serbia.
“The Serbian parliament states that the ICJ, while giving its advisory opinion on Kosovo’s proclamation of independence, did not legalize an ethnically motivated attempt of Kosovo’s secession. The ICJ did not answer the essential question of the legality of a right to secession of Kosovo Albanians,” the draft resolution states.
The government also calls for national unity, and announces that all available diplomatic and political measures would be used for preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. The parliamentary resolution also aims to define the next steps of Serbia’s foreign policy.
“The national parliament gives support to the government’s process of submitting a resolution to the UN General Assembly, which if adopted, would open a path of reaching a compromise on Kosovo through negotiations,” the draft states.
The ruling Democratic Party stated that it believes the session would show that an awareness existed of the responsibility of both the government and opposition parties for the current situation.
The opposition stated earlier that they wanted to hold a parliamentary meeting to discuss the Kosovo issue.
The opposition Serb Progressive Party stated that its MPs would participate in the debate, while the Liberal Democratic Party said it did not support the government’s resolution, “which would only support and extend the wrong policies”.
