I AFFIRMATION OF THE SOVEREIGNTY AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA

1. Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and the Ahtisaari/Chernomyrdin document unequivocally reaffirm the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the southern Serbian Province of Kosovo and Metohija. These guarantees for the FR of Yugoslavia are final. Taking this as her starting point, the FR of Yugoslavia endorsed the deployment of the international security and civil presences in Kosovo and Metohija under the auspices of the UN and with a UN mandate.

   The international security (KFOR) and civil (UNMIK) presences, under the aegis of the United Nations, were enabled by the Military-Technical Agreement and established with the consent of the FR of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Serbia so as to provide assistance in the interim period to the competent Yugoslav authorities in creating the necessary conditions for opening a political dialogue on substantial autonomy of Kosovo and Metohija, within the framework of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia and the FR of Yugoslavia, and with full respect for the equality of all its citizens and ethnic communities living in the Province.

2. Peaceful political settlement: The FR of Yugoslavia has confirmed her commitment to a peaceful political settlement in the province of Kosovo and Metohija by accepting the Ahtisaari - Chernomyrdin document and by consistently implementing all its obligations from the provisions of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and the Military-Technical Agreement as can be seen from the Reports of the Secretary-General to the Security Council.

3. The responsibility of the Security Council: As the guarantor of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) the Security Council undertook the obligation to secure the strict respect for all the provisions of the resolution and of the related documents, primarily those reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the FR of Yugoslavia on its entire territory, as well as respect for the general standards in carrying out UN peace-keeping operations, in particular the general principles of the UN Charter, the international conventions on human rights, etc. The Security Council was also obligated to prevent any departure from, and postponement and arbitrary interpretation of, the provisions of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and of the related documents. The Security Council is the only authorized body to render binding interpretations of its resolution.

   The Government of the FR of Yugoslavia reiterates its request to the Security Council to establish a Committee on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).

4. The KFOR and UNMIK mandate: Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) clearly defines the framework of the international civil and security presences in Kosovo and Metohija which is an integral part of the single constitutional-legal, economic, financial-monetary, customs and taxation systems of the FR of Yugoslavia. In accordance with that, the FR of Yugoslavia, as the host country of the UN mission, proposed that all relevant issues of the status of the international security (KFOR) and civil (UNMIK) presences during their stay in the southern Serbian Province be regulated in a comprehensive agreement between UN and the FR of Yugoslavia. The FR of Yugoslavia reiterates that proposal also on this occasion.

   The resolution clearly defines the responsibility of "the international security presence" in Kosovo and Metohija (op. paragraph 9), while the Secretary-General is authorized to establish an "international civil presence" in Kosovo and Metohija (op. paragraphs 10 and 11) and an "interim administration" in Kosovo and Metohija which should pave the way for a dialogue and a political settlement providing for a "substantial autonomy within the framework of the FR of Yugoslavia".

   Op. paragraph 10 of the Resolution, as well as item 5 of its Annex II clearly define the limits of the "interim administration" of the United Nations in Kosovo and Metohija.

   According to the international standards, local autonomy means that certain specific competencies and rights, such as the right to use a minority language, to education and information in the minority mother tongue and the protection and cherishing of minority culture and tradition, as well as local administration affairs are devolved to an autonomous area which is achieved within the framework of the broader constitutional-legal order of the sovereign state.

   Consequently, the FR of Yugoslavia, i.e. the Republic of Serbia, retains their sovereign rights, constitutional functions and jurisdiction in Kosovo and Metohija. These, inter alia, include: the setting of uniform conditions of business operation, the state border crossing regime, a single market and the monetary-financial regime, the dinar as the single currency in a single country and market, personal documentation regime, the unified legal system and all legal proceedings (civil, penal, administrative), fulfillment of all international obligations that the FR of Yugoslavia has assumed and which are enforced throughout its territory as a single entity (instruments on the exercise of human rights, prohibition of discrimination, etc), etc.

5. Agreement and dialogue: The FR of Yugoslavia, as the host country to the international security and civil presences in Kosovo and Metohija, under the auspices of the United Nations, considers that, in order to ensure consistent and full implementation of Security Council resolution 1244 and, in particular, respect for the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty, it is necessary to conclude a comprehensive agreement with the United Nations regulating the status of the international presence under the auspices of the United Nations and all other relevant issues. The Government of the FR of Yugoslavia reiterates this proposal and expects the Security Council to take a positive position.

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