Serbian Ambassador to UNESCO, Darko Tanaskovic

Pristina expects admission to UNESCO, referring to the number of member states that have recognized the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo, the fact that it has already entered into many financial, cultural and international organizations, as well as the legally non-binding opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Declaration of Independence. Are these arguments sufficient versus current UN SC Resolution 1244?

The Presidency of Kosovo did not respond to the question sent by the journalist of this newspaper on whether the request for the membership in UNESCO was signed by President Jahjaga.

Kosovo FM Thaci also avoided answering to this question, raised by some MPs, at yesterday’s session in the Kosovo Parliament. Thaci briefly told MPs that the candidacy was "made in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo." He also avoided saying whether the application for the UNESCO was submitted by UNMIK.

Serbia will do everything it can to make it clear to UNESCO members that allowing Kosovo to join this organization would be a harmful move.

This is what Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said in parliament on Thursday, answering questions from deputies.

"The main intention of the promoters of this initiative is to turn the Serb cultural heritage into Kosovo's," Dacic said.

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hashim Thaci, at the Assembly session today didn’t answer the question of the Vetevendosje MP Ilir Deda whether the request for membership in UNESCO was made through UNMIK. He said that the request for membership was made in accordance with the laws and the Constitution of Kosovo.  "There has been strong lobbying from Kosovo but also from international partners for Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO, despite numerous reactions of the Serbian government.

If it turns out that UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo applied for membership in UNESCO, it opens up a new political game, where the UN organization in a direct way interfered with the relationship between Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, positioning itself on the side of Kosovo Albanians.

Serbian Ambassador to UNESCO Darko Tanasković said that Pristina's request for membership in UNESCO was sent through UNMIK, by which this international mission in Kosovo violated its competencies.

Whether UNMIK really stepped out from its mandate and what are the consequences?

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that he discussed and will discuss with President Tomislav Nikolic the platform for Kosovo and Metohija, which Serbian President proposed. "We talked and we'll talk in the future, we are waiting for the completion of the Brussels talks, and we will continue," said Vucic.

Vučić said that Serbia will do everything in its power to prevent Kosovo to become a member of UNESCO, by peaceful and democratic means. "Serbia is not powerless as it was," he said.

Kosovo government will allocate additional funds to engage international consultants that would help Kosovo to join international organizations. At the government meeting held today, it was announced that this project, initiated by the British Council, aims to provide lobbying for the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU and joining the Council of Europe and UNESCO.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will continue to act in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244, while the matters of UNESCO membership are decided by UNESCO’s General Conference, Eri Kaneko of the Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General told Tanjug on Tuesday.

Kaneko confirmed that Ban had received a letter from Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic regarding Kosovo’s efforts to become a UNESCO member.

If UNESCO accepts Kosovo application for membership that does not mean that it will become 205^th member of this organization. As stated by Rada Trajkovic, president of the NGO European movement of Serbs, membership in the UNESCO could be prevented by the Serbian MPs in Kosovo parliament. As she claims, and as stipulated by the Kosovo constitution, for the laws related to the protection of the cultural heritage is required majority support of MPs from the minority groups.

The Gracanica-based European Movement of Serbs in Kosovo, led by Rada Trajkovic, issued a communiqué on Monday arguing that Kosovo cannot become a member of the UNESCO without the help of Serbs. The communiqué recalls that Articles 17 and 18 of the Constitution of Kosovo note that membership of international organizations requires 2/3 of votes of assembly members.