Serbian President Boris Tadic meets German Chancellor Angela Merkel

(1 Oct 2008) SHOTLIST
1. Wide of Serbian President Boris Tadic and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arriving for press conference
2. Close of photographer
3. SOUNDBITE (German) Angela Merkel, German Chancellor:
"I do not agree with separation of Kosovo."
(Camera pans to Tadic)
SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Boris Tadic, Serbian President:
"Well, Serbia is not changing it's political agenda. A key element of our political agenda is an idea of substantial autonomy (of Kosovo), and these are wrong interpretations which are sometimes made by the people from the media, not only those in Serbia, but also in Germany."
4. Close of German, European Union and Serbian flags
5. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Boris Tadic, Serbian President:
"As far as Serbia is concerned, EU and EULEX are welcome to Kosovo, under three conditions: that a decision is made at the level of the UN Security Council, that the Ahtisaari plan is not implemented, and that the mission is status neutral."
6. Close of journalist's notepad
7. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Boris Tadic, Serbian President:
"Our final intention (with the UN resolution proposal) is to move the whole process from the political arena to the legal arena. We intend to establish political stability by leading this discussion on the legal level."
8. Close of journalists
9. Merkel and Tadic shake hands and leave
STORYLINE
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday she did not agree with any notion of separating Kosovo between majority ethnic Albanians and minority Kosovo Serbs.
Merkel's statement were in reference to remarks by Serbian President Boris Tadic, who said late on Monday that he would consider dividing Kosovo by absorbing the small, Serb-dominated portions from ethnic Albanian areas if Belgrade can't stop the territory from winning full
independence.
It was the first time that a senior Serbian official openly discussed the division of Kosovo since ethnic Albanians, who comprise about 90 percent of Kosovo's two (m) million people, declared independence from Serbia in February.
Kosovo Albanian officials, however, flatly rejected President Boris Tadic's suggestion.
Merkel spoke at a joint news conference with Tadic after the two leaders held talks in Berlin on Wednesday.
Merkel told the news conference she did not agree with the idea of splitting the region.
In an attempt to clarify his position, Tadic said that the idea of a "substantial autonomy" of Kosovo is a key element of the Serbian political agenda, but that Serbia was prone to erroneous interpretations by the media in both Serbia and Germany.
Tadic also said that the European Union and EULEX (The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo) were welcome in Kosovo, "under three conditions: that a decision is made at the level of the UN Security Council, that the Ahtisaari plan is not implemented, and that the mission is status neutral."
The Ahtisaari plan refers to the Kosovo declaration of independence, based on the plan engineered by former United Nations envoy for Kosovo status Marti Ahtisaari, who was previously President of Finland.
Tadic said the intention was to move discussions regarding Kosovo from the political arena to the legal arena, establishing political stability by leading discussions "on the legal level."
Kosovo has received recognition from more than 45 countries, including the United States and most EU nations, but Kosovo authorities have no control over about 15 percent of its territory where about 200-thousand Serbs live.
Serbia has been trying to form its own leadership in those areas, despite opposition from Kosovo's UN and EU administrators.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...