23 Mar. 2004

Prime Minister of Serbia visits NATO News 22/03/2004 - NATO Visit to NATO by Prime Minister of Serbia Opinions 23/03/2004 - NATO Transcript of the press point with NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the Prime Minister of Serbia, Vojislav Kostunica Multimedia High resolution photos Audio file of the Press point (MP3/2372kb) Video file of the Press point (WMV/3985kb) Serbian Prime Minister Kostunica visited NATO on 23 March for talks with Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer on the situation in Kosovo and Serbia’s desire to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme. The recent violence in Kosovo, which NATO believes to have been orchestrated by Kosovo Albanian extremists, was one of the main issues discussed. The Secretary General and Mr. Kostunica talked about what could be done to prevent such attacks in the future and to ensure the safety of minorities in the province. In a series of clashes and attacks that began on 17 March, 28 people died, over 900 were injured and more than 3,000 - mainly Serbs - were forced to flee their homes. NATO rapidly deployed extra troops into Kosovo to quell the violence. Rebuilding houses and churches Speaking to reporters following the meeting, the NATO Secretary General repeated NATO’s message that what happened was “absolutely unacceptable”. He said that houses and churches that were destroyed had to be rebuilt and that “the Serb minority in Kosovo should be able to live where it has lived and where it wants to live.” Serbia and Montenegro and the Partnership for Peace Mr. Kostunica and the Secretary General also discussed Serbia’s progress towards joining NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme and its reform efforts. Mr. de Hoop Scheffer reiterated NATO’s position that Serbia’s full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia remained a key precondition. He said he was sure that the government under Mr. Kostunica would continue the reform process set in motion by the previous government. This was Mr. Kostunica’s first visit to NATO Headquarters.