Serbia urges Ottawa not to recognize Kosovo
Recognition a 'dangerous precedent,' ambassador warns Canada
Last Updated: Thursday, February 21, 2008 | 6:02 AM ET
The Canadian Press
Serbia's ambassador to Canada says recognizing Kosovo as an independent country is a "worldwide dangerous precedent" and he's hoping Ottawa doesn't follow the lead of other world powers that have quickly embraced the separation of the territory.
"If we accept this kind of violation of international law, the whole international order is at stake," Dusan Batakovic said in an interview from Ottawa Wednesday with the Canadian Press.
"We think that democratic solutions through compromise and negotiations are the only way out," he added.
Since ethnic Albanian leaders declared independence from Serbia on the weekend, the Conservative government has yet to indicate its position. It says it continues to assess the situation.
The ambassador said he has asked for a meeting with Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion, who is urging Canada to join other countries, including the United States, France, Britain and Germany, in recognizing Kosovo as a country.
"I expect to discuss with Stéphane Dion the human rights record in Kosovo, the administration-sponsored discrimination against Serbs and other Albanians, which clearly shows that Canada should not recognize as a state an entity with this kind of large-scale human rights abuse and discrimination on ethnic basis," Batakovic said.
The ambassador said he presented a letter Monday from Serbian President Boris Tadic to James Fox, assistant deputy minister of bilateral relations at Foreign Affairs. The letter said Kosovo's declaration of independence, without the approval of Serbia or the Security Council, is "illegitimate, and, under international law, completely null and void."
The ambassador said he wasn't given an indication when the Canadian government might decide whether to align with most other G7 members or join countries such as Russia, China and Spain, which have rejected the move as a violation of international law. Spain, like Canada, has its own pro-independence movement to consider.
"We're continuing to follow events closely," Foreign Affairs spokesman Andre LeMay said Wednesday.
