Belgrade, 1 November 2006 - Kosov@News -  The French ambassador to Belgrade Ygue Perne said that the international community does not consider Kosovo solution as a precedent for other frozen conflicts in the world.

We have thought about it, “But in our opinion, the Kosovo question has such specific parameters that we believe that it cannot be used as a precedent.” Ygue Perne said.

“As far as I know, the zone of conflict according to our partners does not revolve around the same conditions as Kosovo. None of the territories that we mentioned, for instance, are under the direct administration of the United Nations, nor do they have that great of an international military presence of NATO troops.” Perne said.

“The stance of the international community, stated through the Contact Group, is that the Kosovo status solution needs to be made by the end of 2006, and this has not changed and I do not have the impression that the Contact Group wants to tie the periodic framework of the Kosovo status discussions with the calendar of the elections in Serbia. Moving the discussions in accordance with the Serbian elections is in one way, getting involved in Serbia’s internal affairs, and on the other hand, is an effort to postpone the process which has begun, which means that there will be no accommodations made.” Perne said.

He added that once the Kosovo status solution is found, the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1244 might also be altered.

Additional arguments that have been presented in other occasions are that the population of Kosovo has been subjected to Serb ethnic cleansing and a campaign of terror that left over ten thousand people dead. As such, no one expects Kosovars to live in the same country with the perpertrators of these crimes.

Perne reiterated that France and all of its partners want to see Serbian continue its talks with the European Union, but Serbia knows well that it must fulfill its international obligations and extradite Ratko Mladić to The Hague.

“That is not only its legal obligation, but a way in which to show that we do, in fact, share the same ideals and values. I think that our stance is clear, and it calls for progress to be made in cooperation with the Tribunal.” Perne said.