OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: CONTINGENCY GUIDANCE ON

UNCLAS STATE 015110

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL OSCE UNMIK KV YI
SUBJECT: OSCE PERMANENT COUNCIL: CONTINGENCY GUIDANCE ON
KOSOVO


1. Should Serbia raise Kosovo at the February 14 Permanent
Council meeting in Vienna, Post is authorized to present the
following contingency statement in response.

Begin text:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The United States along with our European partners have been
actively engaged in promoting stability in the Balkan region
for over 15 years. The region is key to European security.

The United States has made its position on this issue clear:
We need to resolve the last major issue resulting from the
breakup of Yugoslavia ) Kosovo,s status ) if we want to
ensure long-term stability in the region and accelerate the
region,s integration into the Euro-Atlantic family.

Belgrade and Pristina have negotiated Kosovo,s status for
over two years. The Un Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari led
negotiations for 15 months and the EU-Russia-Troika for four
months last fall. The negotiators left no stone unturned in
attempted to find a mutually agreed upon solution.

The UN Secretary General and the Contact Group both observed
that the status quo in Kosovo is unsustainable. Without
clarity Kosovo cannot access international financial lending
or attract investors. The people of Kosovo cannot partake of
the opportunities offered by participation in international
forums and initiatives.

We and a number of European states have made clear that,
absent an agreement between the parties, the Ahtisaari Plan
is the best way forward. We believe, as do many others in
this room, that prompt implementation of the Ahtisaari Plan,
including its recommendation of supervised independence for
Kosovo and critical measures to protect Kosovo's minorities,
will promote regional stability and enable both Serbia and
Kosovo to move forward on the Euro-Atlantic path.

Kosovo,s authorities have made considerable progress on the
implementation of UN-endorsed standards, especially those
that pertain to minority rights. They carried out a fair and
free election and formed a government that includes all of
Kosovo,s communities. They have also behaved responsibly in
negotiations on Kosovo,s status and demonstrated patience in
response to the international community,s inability to
resolve the status issue. Maintaining the status quo would
have damaging consequences for the political, social and
economic development of Kosovo, Serbia and the region.

It is regrettable that some have said that Kosovo's
independence would be a violation of the Helsinki
Final Act, a basic principle of which is that all of its
principles must be interpreted taking into account the
others, including, for example, principles related to the
respect for human rights, self-determination, and the
indivisibility of security in Europe.

Kosovo must be viewed with the context of the break-up of
Yugoslavia. It cannot be divorced from the history of ethnic
cleansing and massive human rights violations that led to
international intervention. UN Security Council decision
1244 placed Kosovo under international administration and
effectively put an end to Belgrade's authority -- a situation
unlike anywhere else in the OSCE region.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

End Text.
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