Jovanovic: Things are returning to their source - our deed to Kosovo and Metohija

Former diplomat, Vladislav Jovanovic, believes that it is good that Serbia agreed to, as he says, the talks on Kosovo and the proposal of the diplomatic “five” because, as he states, it means in a way that things are returning to their source, i.e. Serbia's deed to Kosovo, RTV reports.

Jovanovic said that the Franco-German proposal as a negotiating framework was difficult to call a negotiation because the result was already firmly fixed and immovable.

"These are more talks about the situation regarding Kosovo and Metohija and the expectation that the West still firmly has that we will finally recognize it and clear the way for the inclusion of the so-called state of Kosovo in international organizations, including the UN," Jovanovic said.

Stating that the wish list is always long, Jovanovic says that the question is what can be achieved from it.

"It's good that we agreed to further talks because it keeps us in the loop, the second thing is that what the West considers a fait accompli is not quite finished and that things are somehow returning to their source, which is our deed to Kosovo and Metohija, because no matter how powerful they were and physically conquered Kosovo with aggression, even then it is not considered theirs, but the supreme authority is placed in the hands of the UN, and NATO is there to ensure peace and security," he explained.

Jovanovic also assessed that NATO did not provide security as it should, but that this was its function.

He also indicates that the talks on Kosovo are not being conducted in a vacuum and independently of other events in the world, especially in Europe and Ukraine, and that they are not independent of some predictions of new events that could make the world and Europe even more tangled and uncertain, in terms of final outcomes.

"And that's why this conversation is good, even though the positions are extremely far apart, because in a way it gains time, which suits both sides, and on the other hand, we protect ourselves from unpleasant unilateral moves that the West could make. They have already made a list of retaliatory measures, which in itself is not a good investment in the talks, because the talks must not be under threat. Those talks are a protection against surprises, and at the same time a waiting room to see the unfolding of future events and the further behavior of the West as a whole, including towards us," Jovanovic said.

According to him, it was difficult to predict the outcome, but Serbia had a red line which, as he pointed out, hurt the West the most.

"That's our deed to Kosovo, it's recognition by a series of international agreements and contracts that it's ours," Jovanovic says.

He adds that this is also the case according to the UN Resolution 1244, but also with the re-admission of Serbia to the UN because we have been admitted within our republican borders as new international borders, which the UN ratified.

Therefore, as he says, Serbia's agreement with what the West considers to be definitely lost is irreplaceable, and without it, what they achieved is worth nothing, and they achieved everything, as he notes, by illegal means.

He emphasizes that this is the reason that threats and reprisals will be on hold because, if they were to start immediately, they would further distance the possibility of an agreement.

"There is also something new that everyone sees, but they will not emphasize, because it does not suit them in the negotiation tactics with us, and that is that in the meantime, since the recognition of so-called Kosovo, Serbia has grown into a serious factor that is respected by all the great powers and other countries, but also as a center of gravity of others around us because we have jumped in our development and power, both political and military," Jovanovic says.

He points out that over time the West will also have to decide whether something that is smaller or bigger suits them better and states that Kosovo was attractive when Serbia was weak, and now that Serbia is getting stronger, the question is whether they will, in weighing their interest, ignore Serbia because they could easily alienate it from themselves.

"Even if they continue to insist on Kosovo as their conquest war profit, everything is in a state of waiting for further development, which can be diverse, and we have no reason to rush to bow to the will of the powerful, especially before we have on our side the inalienable right of ownership over that territory, and only our renunciation of that can validate what they achieved by force and illegal means," Jovanovic explains.

When asked whether Serbia could count on the support of its friends from the East, Jovanovic said that in this situation when everything was mixed and complicated and incomprehensible, there could hardly be any concrete support, but it could and would be political.

"Even the West needs not to go against us too much because it would give arguments in the hands of others to remind the international public that the first violation of the borders in Europe was carried out by the Western countries - NATO, and only later by Russia, and that by reaching out by force towards for us, the legal, political and moral position of the West collapsed even more," Jovanovic says.

He believes that the West will make some hints and minor measures of pressure and retaliation on Serbia, but will not go further, because it would not suit him.

"In that interregnum, we can talk and expect something that would be more favorable for us than what they are offering us now," Jovanovic concluded.