SERBIA-MONTENEGRO FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS NO BORDER CHANGE WITH ALBANIA
SRNA - October 2, 2004

Belgrade, 2 October: Serbia-Montenegro (SCG) Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Draskovic said today in Belgrade that the state border between SCG and Albania cannot be changed and that it can only become virtually invisible, according to European standards.

"Any kind of talks on the final status of Kosovo have to acknowledge this fact as a starting point, because SCG will never surrender its sovereignty there, and with this there is no independence for Kosovo," Draskovic emphasized, opening the international round table: "Kosovo-Metohija - five years later".

Commenting on the results of the international community's five year sojourn in Kosovo-Metohija, Draskovic said "the less said, the better, as the facts speak for themselves".

He recalled that as soon as the international community had arrived in Kosovo-Metohija it secured the return of (ethnic) Albanian refugees and rebuilt their homes.

Draskovic added that, to date, more than 150 church buildings and 40,000 Serb homes have been destroyed, 2,500 Serbs have been either killed or kidnapped, and more than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians have, under pressure, left Kosovo-Metohija.

He said that the violence against Serbs on 17 and 18 March (2004) could not have occurred spontaneously, but was well organized and resembled "the night of the long knives".

Draskovic added that the problems in Kosovo-Metohija could be resolved by the international community guaranteeing rights for all citizens who live there and for power to be decentralized according to the European model.

He pointed out that it was an obligation to return property to all Serbs "so they can do what they want with it".

"I belong to the minority that calls for Serbs to take part in the 23 October elections in Kosovo-Metohija, although this is not my job, just as it is not the church's job. This is a matter for Serbia's president and prime minister, but they are against participation. If one of them calls for participation, then I will naturally support it," Draskovic said.

Source: SRNA news agency, Bijeljina, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 0839 gmt 2 Oct 04

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