On Friday, the UN Security Council will hold a session to discuss the situation in Kosovo at which Serbia’s stands will be presented by Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, Tanjug learned at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The trimester report by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will be presented at the session, which will also be attended by Head of UNMIK Lamberto Zannier, it was confirmed at the UN mission headquarters in Pristina.

In his report Ban welcomed the announcements of a dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and reaffirmed “the readiness of the UN to contribute to these efforts in close coordination with the EU.”

“I welcome the resolution adopted by the GA on Sept 9 and the readiness of the EU to facilitate a process of. I am pleased that the text of the resolution adopted was based on agreement between Serbia and the EU, thus creating the conditions for this process to move forward in the context of the EU perspective for the region,” the report reads.

Ban estimated that “the situation in northern Kosovo has remained unstable, and tensions have grown in the aftermath of the ICJ advisory opinion.”

Underlining that “the ICJ advisory opinion was met with disbelief among the Kosovo Serb community in the north,” Ban urged “the sides to exercise restraint and adopt a measured, constructive approach in order to avoid further escalations in northern Kosovo.”

UNMIK Chief Lamberto Zannier, who held a lecture at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, qualified the current situation in Kosovo as a frozen conflict, but added that it is positive that a political process has been launched bringing the two parties to the negotiating table.

Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said that Kosovo is one of the most delicate matters facing the CoE space and that establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of trust will be critical for the success of future dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

“All the members of the Council of Europe, along with the rest of the world, supported by acclamation the process of dialogue that is about to begin – and that we hope will bring us closer to a historic compromise between Serbs and Albanians,” Jeremic said addressing the Committee of Ministers of the CoE in Strasbourg.

“The status-neutral initiatives of the CoE should continue to be the focus of its valuable work. For example, projects such as safeguarding and reconstructing Serbian patrimonial sites will preserve our Organization’s unity, while ensuring responsible stakeholders on the ground continue to appreciate its important role,” the minister said.

November 11, 2010
TANJUG

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