Ways Out of the Crisis

"Moral victory belongs to us.  Significant movement in our interest has also occurred on the political level.  Already the agreement from Rambouillet is no longer valid.  Now no one insists any longer on NATO troupes," stated Vuk Draskovic, Vice-President of the Federal Government and President of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), in an interview which he gave to Studio B Television.  "Now this political result needs to be channeled into peace and a political agreement which will be in accordance with the UN General Principles, principles of the Contact Group and everything else we insisted upon in Rambouillet," he continued.

"I believe that in the coming days Russia and the west will come to an agreement over a plan, and that this plan will be put before the UN Security Council and that it will be absolutely based on UN General Principles and on international law, that it will guarantee territorial integrity and the sovereignty of our country by clearly saying that Kosovo and Metohija are in Serbia, and no where else, and as far as degrees and types of autonomy are concerned, we will discuss it and we are ready for the highest international standards, going as far as two parallel systems.  The adoption of an appropriate UN Resolution should also be expected.  If in the name of patriotism, unwillingness to concede and the defense of the country, forces were to appear here which would say that it is our obligation to be against this resolution even now, that we must defeat the entire world   to all such individuals our people must decisively say 'NO'," stated Draskovic.

Draskovic warned that we must be ready to accept back all Albanian refugees, and to build relations of peace and trust.  "Kosovo and Metohija must be opened up for world humanitarian organizations, in order that they come to the aid of everyone.  We should probably be ready for the coming of international security forces in which an important role will be played by Russia, Greece and Ukraine," he added.  "Nearly everything the west insists on, the Federal Government has already accepted.  Only the international presence has been arguable from the very beginning, and is still subject to argument.  Since Rambouillet we expressed our attitude that we would support an appropriate international presence.  Now we need to see, after this horror, which are the appropriate forces which can offer guarantees for the return of the refugees, peace and the nursing of the wounds of the war.  Could they be civil forces?  Viktor Chernomirdin stated that this would simply be impossible," Draskovic said.

Even though, for instance, the German press agency DPA stated that this is "the first time since the beginning of the war in Kosovo that a prominent member of the Yugoslav leadership directed criticism against the Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic," the majority of foreign reactions was careful and reserved.

For instance, the French daily "Le Figaro" posed the question whether this is "a crack in the Serbian regime" or whether "Vuk is being used as a test balloon by a government which has fallen into great diplomatic difficulties."  The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hubert Verdin assessed that Draskovic's statements could represent the first sign of differences in the Yugoslav leadership.  "We must be careful...  We cannot throw them away that lightly, but we also cannot believe them," he stated.

The first reactions from the country also showed the same reserve.  The President of the Democratic Party, Zoran Djindjic, stated that he "completely agrees" with the majority of attitudes which Draskovic expressed in his interview for Studio B Television.  "It would be a good thing is these were the attitudes of the Federal Government, but I believe that this is merely Draskovic's personal opinion," stated Djindjic for the Beta Agency.  He said that the "problem" with this statement is connected with "Vuk Draskovic's classic fickleness."

Draskovic's appearance was also supported by the President of New Democracy, Dusan Mihajlovic.  He added that only regarding Draskovic's opinion "that we cannot wage war against the entire world would it be correct to ask for the opinion of the people."

The Democratic Party of Serbia assessed that "not too much importance should be paid" to attitudes for resolving the Kosovo crisis which have been expressed by the Vice-President of Federal Government Vuk Draskovic put forth in an interview for Studio B.  "If the loud rhetoric is taken away, it will be seen that all of that can be reduced to the repetition of Slobodan Milosevic's infrequent statements and attitudes which he expressed in an interview for CBS."

The President of the Executive Council of the Democratic Party of Socialist of Montenegro, Miodrag Vukovic, assessed that Draskovic's statement for Studio B is a "brave political answer which was expected in Montenegro, but that it is an answer which came very late."

In an interview which he gave to the British satellite TV station, SKY, Draskovic stated that he believes that President Milosevic is also very active on the same issues and that he was aware of everything that the Vice- President of Federal Government would put forth.

At the press conference held on Monday, Draskovic said that he spoke that day with the Serbian President Milan Milutinovic who "clearly supported" his attitudes.  He also added that he recently met with Milosevic and that he got the impression that the Yugoslav president thinks that the solution of the Crisis in Kosovo "must be approached on the basis of respect for UN General Principles and the Security Council."

The statement given by Draskovic the next day, on Tuesday, was more precise.  At that time Draskovic said that it would be "logical" that NATO would participate in eventual UN forces in Kosovo, for they are members of the Security Council.  "I met with Milosevic last week, but we did not speak about this."  He pointed out that in public appearances Milosevic accepted UN international forces in Kosovo under the mandate of the UN Security Council.  Draskovic explained that "nearly 99 percent of the attitudes" he stated are in fact the attitudes of the Yugoslav Government.  When asked what is the one percent regarding which there is disagreement in the Federal Government, Draskovic answered: "Regarding how the international UN forces in Kosovo would be constituted."

On Monday Draskovic also spoke by telephone with the Special Envoy to the Russian President for FR Yugoslavia, Vikot Chernomirdin.  Chernomirdin did not wish to discuss the subject of this conversation.  Commenting the statements by Vuk Draskovic on Tuesday, Igor Ivanov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, stated that Russia "is negotiating with the leadership of the FRY and cannot base its work on statements given by individual Yugoslav high officials, even if they occupy the highest places in the FRY state hierarchy."

In the interview for Studio B, Draskovic also spoke about the situation of the media in the country.  "Since the beginning of the aggression our people has been deluded and lied to by claims that it is a matter of days when NATO will fall apart, that there are great differences among the western allies, that the conflict between Europe and America is so acute that nothing will remain of NATO, that Russia is nothing short of ready to enter a military conflict with NATO.  Of course, none of that is true," stated Draskovic, assessing that it is precisely the aggression against Serbia which has been used by the US to discipline Europe and to homogenize NATO.  "Not only is there no falling apart, but there is even a tide of NATO expansion," he said.

After that Draskovic said that "our fate is in our own hands to the extent that there is wisdom in heads of those who lead the country."