Serbia: Never agree to give up Kosovo

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-15-2007 08:10

Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic adjusts his tie as he briefs the media, November 27, 2007. REUTERS/Herwig Prammer (AUSTRIA)

Serbia says it will never agree to give up the province of Kosovo in exchange for faster membership in the European Union.

Serbia's Foreign Minister made the remarks after the EU Summit on Kosovo's bid for independence.

A draft statement from the 27-nation bloc indicated Brussels would offer Serbia a fast track to candidate status.

It also says talks on Kosovo had been exhausted, the status quo was untenable and a settlement of Kosovo's future status was essential for Balkan stability.

Belgrade says a trade-off is out of the question.

Vuk Jeremic, Serbian Foreign Minister, said, "This government does not see the issues of the future Kosovo status and the EU as things that might be compensated."

Even within the EU bloc, nations are divided over whether to recognize Kosovo's independence. Cyprus is the strongest opponent. Spain, Slovakia, Greece and Romania have also voiced fears that independence for Kosovo would encourage separatist movements elsewhere.

Kosovo has been under UN administration since 1999.

The four-month negotiations on its future status, mediated by the troika of the US, EU and Russian envoys, officially ended earlier this month without any result.

The UN Security Council will debate the report of the troika next Wednesday.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei