Serbia “won’t withdraw Kosovo draft”

First Deputy PM and Interior Minister Ivica Dačić on Sunday again spoke about Serbia’s UN GA Kosovo draft. He said that it was “unrealistic to expect for Serbia to accept the adoption of a resolution that would recognize legality of Kosovo-Metohija’s independence”. 

Dačić pointed out that adoption of a resolution that would not close the issue of Kosovo and Metohija at the UN General Assembly was Serbia’s goal.

“Serbia is open to all kind of talks on further developments of the process relating to Kosovo-Metohija, but it is unrealistic to expect Serbia to accept a resolution to be adopted that will put a period on independence and which says that it is a done thing,” Dačić said.

The minister described this as the “lower red line”, and added Serbia would not go below it.

“Representatives of the international community should say what their concept and orientation is and who is going to guarantee that (ethnic) Albanians will not expel Serbs from the north of Kosovo, and whether recognition of the unilaterally declared independence by Kosovo will be the condition for Serbia’s accession in the EU,” said Dačić.

Belgrade daily Danas in the meantime writes that Serbia is not worried by the prospect that a majority in the UN General Assembly will not vote in favor of its draft, when this body meets on September 9 in New York.

The reason for this, the newspaper says, is Belgrade’s appraisal that a negative outcome will not make any serious difference in favor of the Kosovo Albanian side.

Deputy PM Božidar Đelić also commented on the situation by saying that Serbia was not considering withdrawing its draft resolution on Kosovo, and said this was the final decision.

“Of course, an agreement with the EU would be the best outcome for us, but we cannot accept for the meaning of that document to be changed,” said he.