Interview: Serbian Minister Confident on Kosovo
Belgrade | 01 December 2009 | Bojana Barlovac
Serbia's Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic is optimistic about the outcome of the case currently being heard at the International Court of Justice, ICJ, on the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence.
Speaking to Balkan Insight, Bogdanovic said the legal arguments are on Serbia's side, adding that he believes that the Court's decision will shift a hitherto political debate into a legal one.
He said he expects the Court to rule in Serbia's favour, adding that this will give Belgrade an opportunity to re-start negotiations with Pristina.
"I expect the hearing to show a clear commitment, and the debate on the unilaterally declared independence of Kosovo and Metohija to shift from the political to the legal field," said Bogdanovic.
"Legal arguments are on our side... (our) strategy means that if we really want stability, we need to find a way to re-start negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina,'' he added.
The International Court of Justice, ICJ, on Tuesday started hearings into the legality of Kosovo’s controversial proclamation of independence on 17 February 2008.
Serbia, who bitterly opposes the country’s independence, took the case to the ICJ. The Court's open discussion on the issue will last from 1 to 11 December. The judges are supposed to deliver their opinion a few months later.
Asked what his government's strategy would be if the court's decision turns in favour of Kosovo's independence, Bogdanovic said: "I find it hard to believe that something like that will happen".
He said he would sooner believe that there will be fierce political pressure on countries to recognise Kosovo's current status. "If we would be sticking to international law, it would be clear that it was an ethnically motivated secession," Bogdanovic pointed out.
However, in a recent interview with Russian news agency RIA Novosti, the ICJ President Hisashi Owada said that the Court's verdict is unlikely to be unambiguous, noting that the judgets have differing opinions.
Bogdanovic said he considers Owada's statement to be a typically diplomatic response.
"We have legal arguments which are on the Serbian side and on the other hand, we have political arguments that are advocated by those who support the independence of Kosovo and Metohija," he told Balkan Insight. He noted that Kosovo's team is likely to argue that since Kosovo is already recognised by some countries, it is too late to change things.
"I believe and I hope the court will deal with more legal than political arguments," Bogdanovic concluded.
He said he did not believe that the ICJ's advisory opinion will affect Serbia's EU integration, noting that the country's EU integration is not linked or conditioned to Kosovo.
