Tadić: Solution for Kosovo lies in international arena

Source: Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbian President Boris Tadić says the Kosovo problem needs a creative solution that would satisfy interests of Serbs, Albanians and interests of great powers.

Boris Tadić

“We need to find allies in this process. This problem has been internationalized and so we need to find a solution in the international field. The Kosovo issue is essentially decided by the great powers, the members of the Security Council, plus Germany,” Tadić told weekly Nedeljnik.
He said that some of the different solutions that had been proposed in the past, such as substantial autonomy or partition, were either outdated or did not have the support of key players in the international community.

“Now we have to consider other solutions - the models of Northern Ireland, South Tyrol, Aland Islands, or some solutions from the territory of former Yugoslavia,” the president was quoted as saying.

The solution, he said, must contain four essential points: in particular, a solution for the administration of Serb monasteries and monastic complexes, special guarantees for the Serbs in the enclaves, regulations regarding the property of Serb citizens and the state of Serbia, and especially a solution for northern Kosovo.

“Those who decide about Kosovo do not want a frozen conflict, and this would not be good for us anyway. We have to take our solution before those who decide on such matters in the international arena. I talked about it with all key parties in Serbia and we all had a high level of agreement, except with the SRS (Serb Radical Party) and the DSS (Democratic Party of Serbia). However, now is not the time for internal debates, but rather a time to check how viable the solution that we have in mind can be before the key actors of the international community,” stressed Tadić.

“Serbia cannot achieve its interests in Kosovo without alliances at the international level, and these interests have been suspended in the international arena after the 1990's,” he added.

“Because of the errors and crimes in which were our countrymen were among the actors, our country has for years been the pillar of shame and has had to struggle for the legitimization of its national interests,” Tadić pointed out.

“Now, in the new and difficult circumstances, Serbia can no longer wait and has to protect its interests in the international arena,” the president explained.