Виступ делегації України на брифінгу РБ ООН щодо ситуації в Косово

Statement by the delegation of Ukraine at the UN Security Council briefing on Kosovo

(16 May 2016)

Mr. President,

It is my pleasure to welcome Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Kosovo and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Mr. Zahir Tanin back to the Council. I thank him for his briefing.

I also thank First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ivica Dačić, and Ms. Vlora Çitaku for their important statements.

The Special Representative has provided us with the latest analysis of the current situation in Kosovo, which, in our opinion, still lacks improvement. Despite some positive developments, the region continues to face the same problems and challenges the Council already discussed back in February.

Mr. President,

The internal political landscape in Kosovo is marred by violence. It is very disappointing that the work of the Kosovo Assembly is regularly disrupted including by release of tear gas canisters by some representatives.

We are also worried about the street violence with the Kosovo institutions’ property being targets of threats and vandalism. I underscore that acts of violence in any form remain an unacceptable means to express political views.

Ukraine is concerned that the political tensions negatively impact the progress of implementation of the major agreements between Belgrade and Pristina. Among the issues that demand an urgent attention we would underline the following:

— the lack of needed actions from the side of Kosovo institutions in establishment of the Association/Comminity of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo:

— problems incurred at the crossing points by cars registered by the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs;

— implementation of the agreement on car insurance etc.

We urge Belgrade and Pristina to redouble their efforts in fulfilling the provisions of the agreements of 19 April 2013 and 25 August 2015. We hope that in the next reporting period the Council will hear more positive news on their implementation, like, for example, on the progress recently made by Belgrade and Pristina in the area of the mutual recognition of diplomas.

Mr. President,

Ukraine fully supports the high- and technical level dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina facilitated by the European Union. In this regard we hail the commitment of both sides expressed in January 2016 to continue normalization of relations and to focus on the implementation of reached agreements. In our view, the Brussels dialogue should continue to have a central role.

We also hope that entry into force of the Stabilization and Association Agreement between the European Union and Kosovo (on 1 April 2016) will become another factor for further stabilization of the situation and will promote better atmosphere of talks between Belgrade and Pristina.

Another important area where success is much needed is promotion of greater tolerance and reconciliation among communities in Kosovo as well as protection of minority rights and facilitation of return of displaced persons. Special attention should be paid to the continuous assaults on cultural and religious heritage of non-majority communities, which can further poison inter-ethnic relations. Ukraine is convinced that the solution of these problems will promote further political stability in Kosovo.

Finally, Mr. President, I would like to make some comments on work of the UNMIK. Council’s support to the UNMIK as well as KFOR, EULEX, OSCE and the European Union presence in Kosovo is particularly important at this stage. Their work and assistance to Kosovo institutions and communities continue to be essential for political stabilization and inter-community reconciliation.

The priorities of the Mission for the next period should be focused on promotion of peace, stability and respect for human rights in Kosovo. Another very important task is monitoring of process of implementation of the agreements between Belgrade and Pristina, especially in the context of creation of Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities in Kosovo.

I thank you.