Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica

Vienna, November 27 (Tanjug) - Addressing the participants of the 8th ministerial conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica said that the Kosovo issue was the gravest and the most important issue in Europe today.

"It is needless to stress that the Kosovo issue is the gravest and the most important issue in Europe today. Its significance cannot be overvalued because of the fact that it could easily enflame the whole region. As a democrat and as a man who has supported the rule of law all of his life, I am deeply convinced that the International Community, above all OSCE, will not allow this to happen. I expect your help regarding this issue", Yugoslav President said.

Kostunica supported the idea of Kosovo as a multiethnic community.

"Yugoslavia must remain 'the most multiethnic' country in the Balkans. That is our historic destiny", he added, assessing that reconciliation as a prerequisite for multiethnicity is not possible without general agreement on the minority rights.

Yugoslav President supported open dialog between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in which the International Community, above OSCE, can help, but not act as an arbiter.

Stressing that "violence escalates in Kosovo and is no longer based only on ethnicity, but slowly gets even political dimensions", Kostunica assessed that the issue here was "classical terrorism which had struck developed European countries in 1960's and early 1970's".

"The issue here is the attempt to use the naked force to establish political solution which is not supported by people. Violence is spreading towards the south of Serbia. Ethnic Albanian terrorists have trenched in the ground safety zone which can be patrolled only by lightly armed local police and in which no presence of military or paramilitary units is not allowed under the international documents. They disturb both Serbs and ethnic Albanians", Kostunica said.

Yugoslav President assessed that KFOR and UNMIK failed to do their part of job properly, reminding that their mandate unmistakably stemmed from the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Military-Technical Agreement.

Kostunica warned that the new phase in the Kosovo developments had to be particularly connected to OSCE which had organized local elections there.

"Without any intention to discuss great deficiency of the elections - the fact that neither the Serbs who had remained in Kosovo nor twice greater number of internally displaced Serbs who are now in Serbia, have participated in them, I must admit that the voting really meant a step forward because it enabled the victory of ethnic Albanian more moderate political conception", Yugoslav President said. However, their militant compatriots now endanger that conception.

In terms of the return of the FRY to OSCE, Kostunica said that meant the return of Yugoslavia to Europe and the world.

"I am fully aware that OSCE has expanded the range of its activity and deepened the relations between its member countries while we are going through an extremely long and stormy period of time. This means we will have to make efforts in order to keep pace with other member countries. That will not be difficult for us. On the contrary", he stressed.

Kostunica underscored we needed stable security situation in Europe and the stability of our own region.

Reminding that "in a decade behind us, the former Yugoslav republics went through painful interethnic wars", the Yugoslav President questioned how the further good relations with neighbours were to be developed.

According to his opinion, human rights implementation, particularly minority rights, along with the European standards of democracy are the main conditions, but insufficient for themselves.

"The firm guarantees of the integrity of the borders, contained in the Helsinki Final Act, are still necessary. Badinter's commission has finally resolved the issue of the borders in the Balkans with its conclusions, and OEBS has given its firm support to them. We have also accepted them and confirmed that by entering the United Nations and OEBS, in what way we have expressed our attitude towards the complete international cooperation", Kostunica said.