First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic had talks today with UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean- Pierre Lacroix on the role of UNMIK, and Serbia’s contribution to UN peacekeeping operations, and the ways and means of further promoting cooperation in this area.

Minister Dacic underlined that the UN Mission in Kosovo and Metohija is of priority importance to Serbia and that Serbia is striving for the continuation of its presence and engagement, without downsizing or change of its mandate. He recalled that, according to the number of military and police personnel engaged in different peacekeeping operations, Serbia is the largest contributor in the Western Balkans region, and tenth in Europe.

Under-Secretary-General Jean- Pierre Lacroix thanked his interlocutor for Serbia’s contribution to the UN peacekeeping missions. He confirmed the commitment of the Department for Peacekeeping Operations that he is heading, to consistent implementation of the UNMIK mandate, expressing support to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

The two sides discussed the possibilities for and additional contribution of Serbia to peacekeeping operations, in line with the specific needs on the ground.

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Statement by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic

“The UN Security Council session devoted to Kosovo and Metohija was characterized – after a lengthier period of time – by a critical attitude of the Organization’s Secretary-General towards the acts of Pristina authorities. This critical attitude was expressed in several parts of the Secretary-General’s Report through criticism of the behaviour of the Kosovo Police towards Marko Djuric, as well as the fact that reports noted that, in the period under review, only three returnees returned to – as they said, Kosovo and Metohija. This means that out of a total of 200,000 internally displaced persons, expelled persons, only three returned in the current reporting period of three months. The picture is complete when combined with the outcomes in all other years, and the fact that the total number of returnees corresponds to 1.9%. We never allow this issue to be side-tracked. It is highly important that all participants in the Security Council session referred to the obligation of Pristina to form the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

If we set aside the classical politicization of this issue by countries that have recognized Kosovo, and calls on other countries to act likewise, I believe that the session was useful to the extent that all Security Council Member States were informed of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija. Naturally, I drew attention to the indispensable need for maintaining the discussions every three months because – irrespective of the fact that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija is not as dramatic as in 1999, it is far from ideal, since a small incident would suffice to cause significant political and security instability not only in Kosovo and Metohija, but in the entire region.

There will be serious discussions in the coming months on whether at all, or how these sessions will be held further on. The proposals of some Western countries are to put an end to the mission; to change the format of holding sessions, i.e. replacing sessions with consultations closed to the public, in addition to some proposals not to hold discussions every three months, but only two or three times a year.

Nevertheless, since the next session will be held in three months, and the Security Council will be presided over by the United Kingdom, we can expect the reoccurrence of this topic. We have informed all Security Council Member States of our positions, and I believe that our attention should be focused on reaching a political agreement instead of causing further political instability.

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