Veto-wielding China resists EU pressure: Kosovo solution must be acceptable to Serbia, Chinese FM Yang Jiechi (EU’s Solana and Steinmeier in the background).
China: Kosovo Province Solution Must Be Acceptable to Belgrade
China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Yang Jiechi asserted in Hamburg that China wants the solution for Serbian Kosovo-Metohija province that would be acceptable to both Serbs and Serbia’s ethnic Albanian minority concentrated in the province.
Minister Jiechi, whose country is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council with the power of veto, is attending the Asia-EU meeting (ASEM) of foreign ministers, which opened in Hamburg, Germany, on Monday. Reporting from this gathering of 27 EU and 16 Asian foreign ministers, German media claims that “according to the diplomatic sources, there is no unity regarding the possible UN SC decision on the Kosovo-Metohija status.”
Cato Institute: Ahtisaari Plan Represents Dangerous Precedent
Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies at the Cato Institute Ted Galen Carpenter assessed that Serbia’s Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica is absolutely correct regarding the international law and history in relation to the issue of status of Kosovo-Metohija province.
Speaking for Washington radio station Voice of America, Carpenter noted that acceptance of the plan drafted by Martti Ahtisaari in the UN Security Council would have at least two alarming consequences: creation of a dangerous precedent with further impact on the region and Europe in general and, secondly, the imposed breaking up of a sovereign and democratic state would also serve as a precedent that, in the long run, could be a source of problems for the European Union and United States.
French Defense Minister: March 2004 Pogrom of Serbs Urges Caution
According to Tanjug news agency, the new French Minister of Defense Herve Morin assessed in the city of Mitrovica that Serbian Kosovo province needs a solution that will bring peace to its population.
On his first official trip abroad since he took up the job in the newly elected French government, Morin told reporters that it is of the utmost importance to solve the Kosovo-Metohija issue in a way which would guarantee the peaceful and safe environment for all of the Kosovo residents.
The French Minister emphasized that the pogrom of Serbs during March 2004 riots is “urging caution and unceasing vigilance.”
During his one-day visit to Serbian southern province, Morin met with some 2,800 French peacekeepers stationed in the northern part of Kosovo-Metohija.
“At this delicate stage, your role is essential in securing the peace and safety, and in preventing the crisis that could jeopardize the important negotiating process,” said Morin to his country’s soldiers deployed in Serbian province.
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