UN General Assembly
2005

Seven days ago, from this rostrum, I warned that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija - a province of Serbia administered by the United Nations since 10 June 1999 - poses a serious threat to the 20 stability of the Balkans. Serbia and Montenegro supports the conclusion of the International Contact Group that there will be no return to the situation before 10 June 1999. I would like to recall that, before 1999, the regime in Serbia insisted on the limited autonomy of Kosovo, while the Albanian political leaders insisted on its independence. Those two opposing positions led to an armed conflict, and later to NATO air strikes against Serbia and Montenegro. That conflict ended following the adoption of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999), which called for a protectorate in Kosovo but did not call into question the territorial integrity of Serbia and Montenegro. The Contact Group's conclusion that there will be no return to the situation before June 1999 has to apply equally to both sides - Serbian and Albanian. Consequently, there can be neither limited autonomy