Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica on Tuesday called on Italy to refrain from recognizing unilateral independence of the Kosovo province, saying it would jeopardize the stability and prosperity of the entire region.
After meeting with visiting Italian Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema, Kostunica's office said in a statement he called on Italy not to recognize the "illegal creation, if the Albanian separatists unilaterally proclaim independence" of the province which has been under United Nations control since 1999.
Kostunica asked Rome to respect the binding UN Resolution 1244, which officially defines Kosovo as part of Serbia, and renewed his offer of a broad autonomy for ethnic Albanians within Serbia's borders.
"Who breaches Resolution 1244 will be held responsible for undermining the international order and in long range for endangering peace," Kostunica said, adding that Serbia is firmly in favor of the finding of an agreed solution in keeping with the UN Charter and the Serbian Constitution.
Kosovo, which legally remains a Serbian province, has been under UN administration since 1999. The predominantly Albanians of the 2 million population demand outright independence instead of maximum autonomy offered by Serbia.
Italy, with most western powers, supports Kosovo's limited independence. But Russia has blocked in the UN Security Council a plan by the UN negotiator Martti Ahtisaari that would have granted Kosovo internationally supervised independence.
Fresh negotiations are continuing under the aegis of the troika of EU, U.S. and Russian envoys, but have so far showed little sign of breaking the deadlock. The troika will report on Dec. 10 to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon about the latest talks.
It wasn't immediately clear what D'Alema's response was to Kostunica's appeal, but the statement said the Italian minister expressed Italy's strong support for Serbia's integration into the European Union and NATO.
Serbian President Boris Tadic also told D'Alema that recognizing Kosovo would be a dangerous precedent for the region and the world in general, reiterating that Belgrade was dedicated to seek a negotiated and mutually acceptable settlement.
Tadic said that Serbia, and the European Union as well, are facing a serious challenge in the negotiations on the determination of the future status of Kosovo.
Source: Xinhua
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