PRISTINA, Feb 26, 2008 (AFP) — Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci vowed Tuesday to guard jealously every "inch" of its territory, as Serbia threatened to sue the United States for recognising a "phoney state."
"We will never allow Kosovo's territorial integrity, which has been internationally recognised, to be jeopardised," Thaci told reporters on a visit to Racak, the scene of a massacre by Serb security forces in 1999 which prompted a NATO air war on Serbia in defence of the ethnic Albanian community.
"Not an inch of Kosovo's territory must be touched by anyone," he said, warning that the authorities were prepared to "use defence mechanisms for the territory of Kosovo."
The authorities were in "permanent touch" with the UN mission in the former Serbian province and also cooperating with NATO-led peacekeepers (KFOR) deployed in the territory, he said.
With the rhetoric nearing fever pitch, an advisor to Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica threatened to turn the dispute into a legal minefield, the Beta news agency reported.
"Since this outgoing US administration has recognized the phoney state of Kosovo, Serbia's charges will follow," Branislav Ristivojevic told Beta.
Ristivojevic said "it would be best for the (present US) administration to annul the decision to recognise the phoney state, or for the new administration to do it immediately" after America's November presidential elections.
"If the US does not annul this decision, than we will file suits against America before all international courts," Ristivojevic told Beta.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague is the UN's highest court set up to deal with disputes between states.
Poland became the latest European Union heavyweight to offer recognition Tuesday, with Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski saying his cabinet hoped it would be a "stepping stone" towards EU accession for both Serbia and Kosovo.
Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Spain remain opposed, while Greece has also expressed doubts after Kosovo's Albanian-majority parliament unilaterally declared independence on February 17.
Belgrade argues Kosovo's secession violates UN Security Council Resolution 1244, adopted at the end of NATO's bombing campaign, which put the disputed territory under United Nations rule while retaining Serbian sovereignty.
Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Kosovo Serbs rallied on Tuesday in a 10th consecutive day of protests in the ethnically-divided northern Kosovo town of Mitrovica.
Hundreds of Serbs also clashed with police outside the US consulate in their Bosnian stronghold of Banja Luka.
Six people including four policemen were injured with a teenager suffering serious head injuries, a hospital official said.
Police detained 20 of the demonstrators including 15 minors, spokeswoman Bojana Gasovic said.
After a five-hour National Security Council meeting, Serbian officials insisted "all those taking part in (all) violence must be identified with necessary justice measures taken."
However, Tanjug news agency said the meeting "praised" the police and "the way they conducted their activities during all protests in Serbia."
One person was killed in last Thursday's US embassy blaze and 130 people, including dozens of police officers, were injured in other violence.
In the northern city of Novi Sad, several thousand people including family, friends and nationalist politicians attended the funeral of Zoran Vujovic, whose charred remains were found in the US embassy.
A Belgrade court said the cause of Vujovic's death was yet to be established.
Serbia's Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic will come face to face for the first time with Kosovo representation in round-table talks on Wednesday and Thursday in Bulgaria.
US embassy staff are also scheduled to resume work on Wednesday, according to Beta.
Despite important energy deals with Russia, economic insecurity is beginning to bite, going by Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic comments Tuesday.
"At the moment, foreign investors do not consider Serbia as a heaven for financial investment," Dinkic told reporters.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
