NEW YORK -- The UN Security Council on Friday held a session dedicated to Kosovo, where the latest report by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was presented.
(Tanjug)
Dacic said on Friday that Serbia expects the political vacuum to be overcome now that the government in Pristina has been constituted, which should contribute to the continuation of implementation of agreements reached so far in the Brussels dialogue.
"We expect the continuation of the high-level dialogue in Brussels on February 9 to deliver an additional incentive to the launched process of normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina," Dacic said.
He called on political leaders in the province to invest additional efforts in the continuation of the dialogue, primarily with regard to the best interests of the population in Kosovo-Metohija, now that the political process in Pristina has been unblocked and the conditions for such a step have been created.
The Serbian minister said that Belgrade expects the EU to continue facilitating the dialogue with Pristina through its active engagement.
"We believe that the commitment to European integration constitutes the main driving force in the normalization of the Belgrade-Pristina relations, " the Serbian foreign minister said.
He underscored that the Serbian government will continue investing active efforts in the implementation of the Brussels agreement with a view to ensuring peace, economic prosperity and reconciliation.
He expressed the satisfaction with the fact that the report filed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has recognised the importance of constitution of the Community of Serb municipalities which has been defined as a key point in the immediate continuation of the implementation of the Brussels agreement.
Dacic underscored that the return of internally displaced persons, position of the Serbian Orthodox Church and property issues will remain the key matters for the Republic of Serbia in the continuation of the dialogue with Pristina.
According to him, the essence of the process of normalization of relations lies in identification of the right answers to the questions that pose a burden to the life of citizens in Kosovo and Metohija and prevent full respect for their basic rights.
This can only be achieved through a dialogue based on sincere appreciation of the needs and interests of the other side and the willingness to compromise, Dacic said and added that the participation of Serbia in the political life should also contribute to this end.
Dacic said that the recent dismissal of Minister of Communities and Returns of the Serb List Aleksandar Jablanovic and the protest that preceded his dismissal create an atmosphere of hatred towards Serbs and give ground to an additional feeling of distrust and insecurity.
An atmosphere of political instability and an anti-Serb campaign have been created, which is contrary to the goals of the dialogue in Brussels, he noted.
Dacic qualified as unacceptable any search for a solution to the issue of property of the Trepca mining complex that would be conducted outside the frameworks of the Brussels agreement.
We need to make sure that all activities concerning privatization in Kosovo and Metohija are restored to the valid legal frameworks, he underscored and noted that any solution to the issue of the Trepca mine other than that defined within the Brussels agreement would be unacceptable for Serbia.
Dacic noted that the Kosovo Privatization Agency is conducting the privatization processes that are contrary to the international and European conventions on human rights, and added that the tendency for privatization of public and socially-owned companies is particularly pronounced in environments with majority Serb population.
A special reason for concern lies in the attempt of the provincial government to adopt amendments to the law on public enterprises without prior consultations with representatives of the Serb community, Dacic said and noted that this would violate the agreement according to which the property should be discussed in Brussels with the mediation by the European Chamber and European Commission.
Dacic underscored that the presence of KFOR in the province is necessary and that further reduction of troops must be avoided.
Pointing to the need for introduction of additional measures for protection of the Serb cultural and religious heritage, Dacic recalled the repeated appearance of the graffiti of the Islamic State on the facilities of the Visoki Decani Monastery, noting that Serbia will continue with its determined actions in countering terrorism.
"We expect the international mission in Kosovo and the local interim institutions to give their contribution to the shared fight which has global importance," Dacic said.
As one of the co-sponsors of the UNSC Resolution 2178, Serbia is implementing all the necessary measures to counter terrorism funding and organization of terrorist activities and the increasingly widespread phenomenon of recruitment of foreign mercenaries who are joining armed terrorist organizations in the Near East, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the Serbian minister said.
On this occasion, Dacic also underscored that suspicion concerning the impartiality of the Kosovo judiciary is further reinforced by the case of Oliver Ivanovic as one of the political leaders of Serbs who has been kept in prison for a year now although the court procedures against him are still in the early stages.
Dacic also commended the efforts invested in the investigation into the allegations included in the report filed by rapporteur Dick Marty concerning the inhumane treatment of people and illegal trafficking of human organs in Kosovo.
Trepca
Kosovo Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci said during a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting Friday that the Mining, Metallurgical and Chemical Combine Trepca belonged to Kosovo.Trepca is Kosovo’s and Kosovo will decide on Trepca, Thaci said during the UNSC quarterly meeting on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija.
A solution to this issue has been postponed since the international administration in Kosovo was not ready to deal with political pressures that it would entail, Thaci said.
Serbia’s Development Fund owns a 58 percent stake in Trepca and the rest is owned by a number of Serbian companies save for a small stake owned by the employees.
For that reason, the Serbian government last month sharply opposed Pristina’s intention to adopt legislation to enable itself take over Trepca, and insisted that the issue, as well as other property issues, had to be resolved through talks in Brussels.
Commenting on the recent dismissal of Aleksandar Jablanovic, a Serb who served as minister for communities and returns in Pristina’s government, Thaci said that he had not been replaced because he was a Serb, but because he had not been professional enough.
Serbia took advantage of that to launch a political attack on Kosovo, Thaci said.
He expressed concern about what he called the trend of the Serbian side to drag out the implementation of the Brussels agreement and to interfere with the internal affairs of Kosovo.
Speaking about the issue of mass illegal migration of Kosovo citizens to EU countries in recent years, Thaci said that they were “fleeing” Kosovo because of an absence of a legal framework to enable them to “legally” emigrate to the EU.
He stated that Kosovo was preparing, in coordination with its Euro-Atlantic partners, for setting up a Kosovo army, "a professional and multiethnic military that would be ready to contribute to regional peace and global security."
Thaci called on all UN member-states that have not recognized Kosovo "to do so."
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