Belgrade, June 28, 2007 - Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said in an interview for today's edition of the Politika daily that as long as the Serbian constitution says Kosovo-Metohija is Serbia's territory there can be no independence for the province and this cannot be changed by force.
Kostunica said that the world is now watching a new battle, only now between Serbia and the US, in which one side relies on its authority as a great power in the world, and the other on their rights.
Speaking about the Serbian leadership's readiness to enter a sharp rhetorical and diplomatic duel with the US over Kosovo-Metohija, he explained that all those who are hiding behind the policy of a major force are now telling Serbia, "Forget about your rights, can't you see that the force is stronger than your rights?" However, the key issue is whether force is stronger than rights in this new Battle of Kosovo.
Serbia knows that only rights can win in Kosovo-Metohija while the policy of force will remain helpless and futile, and that this is the essence of the St Vitus' Day message. Whenever each Serb, regardless of where he lives, thinks of Kosovo-Metohija, they know exactly how strong the power of rights and justice are and how weak force is, stressed the Prime Minister.
According to Kostunica, there is no such force that can change the fact that Kosovo-Metohija has always been and will forever remain an integral part of Serbia, and as long as the Serbian constitution says the province belongs to Serbia, it cannot be independent and force can here be of no avail since Serbia's right is an incontestable argument.
He stressed Serbia's respect of the UN Security Council and its firm belief that any state respecting international law, such as Russia, will not allow the Security Council to take away a portion of Serbian territory by force.
It would be extremely important that the states which are ignoring Serbia's right to territorial wholeness still withhold from dissolving the authority of the UN Security Council, said the Prime Minister and added that the resolution of the Kosovo issue must be reached in the Security Council, which means in line with the UN Charter and Serbian Constitution.