Drecun: Europeans have only now remembered International Law — but too late

Milovan Drecun, Chairman of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly of Serbia, has observed that the states which recognized Kosovo’s independence are now calling for respect for international law in relation to Greenland, while at the same time the world’s major powers insist that Belgrade recognize Kosovo’s independence, RTV reports.

Speaking to Tanjug, Drecun said that the world’s major powers always try to justify themselves, and that they are now demanding respect for international law in Ukraine as well as in Greenland, while when it comes to Kosovo they claim that these are not comparable cases.

“What do you think — when the first next report on the situation in Kosovo and Metohija comes up on the agenda of the UN Security Council, will the two Western permanent members, if we exclude the United States, have only words of criticism? That they will say: ‘People, look now at the situation around Greenland, look at Ukraine — yes, we made a mistake, we trampled on international law’? Of course they won’t,” Drecun said.

He stressed that the major powers insist that Kosovo must be a state and are demanding that Belgrade recognize its independence, thereby absolving them of responsibility “by having Serbia recognize the false state they created in violation of international law.”

“And they will not give up on that, while at the same time they will speak about the need to respect international law in Greenland,” Drecun noted.

According to him, Europeans have remembered to invoke international law, but it is now too late.

“The world has already clearly split between those who advocate that international law must be at the top of the global agenda, that nations are the supreme actors, and that the UN Charter must be respected. The cards have already been dealt. We need to seek support from those countries that believe international law must be respected, while from those who bombed us and who are now lamenting that Trump will trample international law, we cannot expect a change in stance. That would mean placing a noose around their own necks of political condemnation and admitting that they committed a crime,” Drecun stated.

He added that, as far as U.S. President Donald Trump is concerned, there are no real obstacles when it comes to international law.

“The only question is the manner of implementation. You have to understand what interest Trump, or rather the United States, has in taking Greenland. Greenland is of strategic geopolitical importance to U.S. national security. And when you add to that the economic interests stemming from large deposits of rare earth metals, as well as fossil fuels, gas and oil, which are gradually becoming available for exploitation — and on top of that, Greenland’s military significance is extremely great,” Drecun pointed out.

He added that Greenland is not “just some whim” of Donald Trump, but a strategic interest of the United States.

“Europeans reacted by invoking international law, warning that this could even mark the end of NATO. Some have even expressed readiness to clash with the Americans if they attempt to take control of Greenland militarily, although the United States already has a base there, and with 56,000 inhabitants across that vast territory, establishing military control is not really a problem,” Drecun concluded.