Borislav Milosevic: "Serbians Will Never Accept Kosovo Independence"
Moscow News - March 6, 2008

Borislav Milosevic, Ambassador of the United Republic of Yugoslavia to Russia from 1998 - 2001, elder brother of former President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, told our correspondent in an exclusive interview about the political situation in Serbia and the future of Kosovo, and about Russian-Serbian relations.

Borislav is 71-years old and still trim and smart. He speaks fluent Russian, English, and French. He bears a slight resemblance with his late brother, Slobodan, and shares the same anxieties about the future of their beloved native land.

What is your opinion about the announcement of Kosovo's independence and its recognition by several countries?

MILOSEVIC: It is very painful for every Serbian. There is a feeling of humiliation and injustice, a trampling of international rights, the helplessness of the United Nations. It means that if you have force and resources, you can defend your rights in international relations. If you don't have such power, you don't have any rights. I think that the U.S. and the European Union made a gross and criminal mistake with far-reaching, serious consequences for international relations.

At the present moment (February 17) do you foresee any possibilities for the settlement of Kosovo's status problem?

MILOSEVIC: Yes, there are some. We should continue negotiations and the search for compromise. But some countries will continue to block this course. There were no real negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina. Actually, Albanian separatists during negotiations in Vienna and Brussels tested the Serbian side - to see what kinds of concessions they could win. The Serbian side made concessions. The Kosovo Albanians didn't make any offerings or concessions because the U.S. and some European countries promised them independence. Thus, Kosovo's separatists simply waited for the end of this show, and their bosses handed them this independence.

What do you think about Kosovo's future?

MILOSEVIC: There are no responsible and serious political parties in Serbia today that stand for recognition of Kosovo's independence. Russia and China in the Security Council of the United Nations stand for the territorial integrity of Serbia. The positions of Russia and China are very important for the system of international law. The situation around Kosovo may be a double precedent for global affairs. First, in March 1999 NATO unleashed aggression against Yugoslavia, and western politicians said this war was an exception of the rule. But now U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that it was a precedent: "Why can't we attack Iran? We bombed Yugoslavia without a mandate of the Security Council of the United Nations already!" Second, this is a precedent for all current points of separatism all over the world.

How do you estimate the chances of Belgrade to confirm and defend the territorial integrity of Serbia?

MILOSEVIC: We will never recognize Kosovo's independence; such a declaration... is illegal. Russia and China think the same way and they are opposed to any idea of Kosovo becoming a member of the United Nations. Without a membership in the UN, Kosovo remains just a territory, not a country.

What is your opinion concerning the use of military force by Belgrade to decide this present problem? Is it possible?

MILOSEVIC: I don't think so. The Serbian authorities declared it would use only peaceful methods, not military force, in the conflict with the Albanian separatists. My opinion is that there is no need to reject legal methods for the defense of our own people. Kosovo's Albanians, however, never give such promises to Serbians. On the contrary, they threaten the Serbians by warning them that if Kosovo doesn't receive independence, they won't be able to control the fury of the people, and conflict would be inevitable.

Frankly speaking, there are no Armed Forces in Serbia. More than 250,000 Serbians were driven out from Kosovo by Albanian separatists. Presently, Serbians are living in Kosovo like in a ghetto. After the NATO occupation, more than 150 ancient Orthodox churches were destroyed by Albanians in Kosovo. There are no repair works. Serbians are living there in constant fear. Even Serbian children cannot go to school without adults. After NATO's occupation, hundreds of Serbians were killed in Kosovo. More than 3,000 Serbians are "missing" in Kosovo (that means "killed"). There are no investigations. Presently, Albanians are capturing Serbia's federal, social, and private property. The occupation's forces in Kosovo, the so-called peacekeeping forces, ignored Resolution 1244 of the Security Council of the UN. They misrepresent the current situation in Kosovo in its reports to the UN General Secretary. Today, Kosovo is a crucial point in the drug trade, which traffics heroin from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Europe.

Why is the U.S. seeking independence for distant Kosovo?

MILOSEVIC: First, it is a matter of principle. The U.S. wants to demonstrate all over the world its hegemony in global affairs. That means only the U.S. can decide who may receive independence, and to whom it is not allowed. Second, it is another step in NATO's expansion in the East. It's not enough to control the territory by air and sea blockade. Full control of the territory requires having troops on the ground. American politicians are dreaming about the creation of the so-called ‘security belt' from the Baltic Sea to the Balkans and Black Sea. Only Belarus prevents the fulfillment of this plan.

The target of NATO's enlargement to the East is not Serbia, but Russia, with its huge natural resources. This is obvious to many Russians. The U.S. have such cases in its geopolitical game in the Balkans. That means that Kosovo will join NATO.

There were some discussions in Russian mass media about Tomislav Nikolic's offer of Serbia ‘s accession to the ‘Union of Russia and Belarus' and the construction of a Russian military base in Serbia. What do you think of such an idea?

MILOSEVIC: This idea about Serbia joining the Union of Russia and Belarus is not new. President Slobodan Milosevic offered this plan in 1999. State Duma Chairman at the time, Gennady Seleznyov, visited Belgrade in April 1999 during NATO's air raids and discussed this plan. As to military bases, there are many fictions. Tomislav Nikolic said if the U.S. puts antiballistic missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia may deploy its own radar in Serbia.

Do you think that the Serbian population of Kosovska Mitrovica will join Belgrade? Is it possible that Serbian inhabitants in that area state their desire to divide Kosovo into two parts because they don't want to live with Albanians?

MILOSEVIC: I don't have a right to divide Kosovo. The whole region belongs to Serbia! The Serbian government cannot divide Kosovo, its own territory.

A big Serbian community lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Is it possible that the Republika Srpska will obtain independence? Is it possible to create a chain reaction in the Balkans?

Certainly, the Republika Srpska has a right to separate from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Why a part of Serbia may declare its independence, and a current part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska, cannot have such right? Furthermore, if the people want, the Republika Srpska can join Serbia. The parade of separatism and divisions can continue in the Balkans.

If Serbia will not recognize a separation of Kosovo and stop diplomatic relations with countries which support Kosovo, what do you see for Serbia's future?

Do you think that Serbia should submit to Kosovo's recognition by Western countries?

MILOSEVIC: I think that the Serbian people will never submit to the separation of Kosovo from their native land. As to the future of Serbia, I think that the joining to the European Union and NATO is not Serbia's only option. I think we may cooperate with Europe and America and have the strategic partnership with Russia and have close ties with China, India, and other countries.

Will Serbia continue to lean toward Europe?

MILOSEVIC: Surely, it will. Serbia is in Europe, we are Europeans. But Serbia has to join the European Union as a whole country with its borders recognized by the international community. This joining should be without robbery and black mail from Kosovo and The Hague.

You and Tomislav Nikolic met with a then-candidate for the presidential post, Dmitry Medvedev. What does he think?

MILOSEVIC: Russians cannot be more Serbian than Serbians themselves. Medvedev repeats the principal position of Russia that Kosovo's independence is unacceptable for Moscow. Nikolic and I were very impressed by Medvedev.

Now Belgrade is an ally of Moscow. Is it a friendship without problems?

MILOSEVIC: Persons and peoples are friends, but countries don't have emotions. States and organizations have only interests. In the present time relations between Serbia and Russia are excellent. And I am sure that our productive and mutually profitable cooperation will strengthen and develop. We respect Russia and Vladimir Putin.

Did Slobodan Milosevic make any mistakes concerning Kosovo?

MILOSEVIC: There are no politicians without mistakes in the world. Slobodan all his life defended people from terrorists, and territorial integrity of Serbia from separatists. There was no genocide against the Albanians. That is false. Slobodan was looking for a political settlement. He met with Ibrahim Rugova and other moderate Albanian leaders. But the West didn't let him reach a compromise; the West supported the Albanians... NATO unleashed a war against Yugoslavia in 1999. It was not a humanitarian operation, but an aggressive military operation to conquer and expand in the East.

Do you believe the results of the official investigation of your brother's death? Was it murder or assassination in The Hague?

MILOSEVIC: I don't think that somebody put poison in his tea or smothered him with a pillow. But it was murder nevertheless because prison denied him permission to go to Moscow for medical treatment at a special hospital. A conclusion was made by an international doctors' council that he required urgent medical treatment in a special hospital. The government of Russia agreed to receive Slobodan in Moscow's Bakulev Center for Cardiovascular Surgery. So yes, what happened was the murder of an innocent and guiltless person. Slobodan represented himself in court very well, so they decided to escape from him.

By Yuri Plutenko

Original URL: http://mnweekly.rian.ru/politics/20080306/55314865.html
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