Serbias leaders say they are not sure whether they will secure majority support at the UN for its bid to seek the World Courts opinion on Kosovos independence.
President Boris Tadic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic have been trying to win over as many as possible representatives of the 192 United Nations member states to secure a simple majority for Serbias resolution to be passed to the International Court of Justice.
Belgrade wants the court, also known as the World Court, to give its opinion on whether Kosovos February 17 declaration of independence was in line with international law.
In trying to secure backing, they have been warning the world about the legal and other consequences of the UN General Assemblys failure to vote in favour of Belgrades resolution.
Tadic on September 23 said that the General Assembly could vote on the resolution in early October, as soon as it ended Septembers debate. He also warned it could not be expected that Kosovo is treated as unique case.
"We all know that there are dozens of Kosovos throughout the world just waiting for their secession to be legitimised, to be rendered an acceptable norm. Many existing conflicts could escalate, frozen conflicts could reignite, and new ones could be instigated," Belgrade media quoted Tadic as telling the General Assembly.
He told media on September 25 it still could not be said the majority has been secured, adding his countrys aim was not to destabilise the region but to move the issue (of Kosovos independence) from a political into a legal area.
Tadic met with United States president George Bush but failed to give any details on the talks, saying only that Belgrade and Washington reiterated their differences over the Kosovo issue.
On the other hand, Tadic said his meeting with Russias foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, once again proved that Moscow unreservedly supports Belgrades resolution.
Tadic added that, Russia will try to convince some other countries to follow suit.
Jeremic was also quoted telling the Reuters news agency that the UNs refusal to back Serbias resolution, would send a signal not only to Serbia and the region but to the whole world, saying: if you want to solve a problem, go ahead and use force, because problems are solved in that way.
Source: BalkanInsight.com
