KFOR Headquarters Film City Pristina 26 June 2003

Press Conference by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson and Lt. General Fabio Mini, COMKFOR LORD ROBERTSON (NATO Secretary General): I'm delighted to speak to you again. Following the meeting today between the NATO Council at 26, with the seven new ambassadors whose countries will join NATO next year, we met with mister Michael Steiner, the U.N. Secretary General special representative. We met this afternoon with Prime Minister Rexhepi and President Rugova and with General Ceku, the Commander of the Kosovo Protection Corps. We have given a very strong message to everybody. The first message is that NATO maintains its interest and the alliance's commitment and is determined to see the job through here in Kosovo. The fact that the whole of the NATO council is here in an enlarged form is an indication that the commitment goes on: It is deep, it is strong. We feel that we've made a huge investment here and our commitment, therefore, to maintaining a safe and secure environment remains very much as our top priority. We expressed to the leaders we've met today our concern and continuing interest in violence. We have deplored the attacks that have taken place, the human rights abuses, that have taken place here in Kosovo. We believe in zero tolerance for thugs and for thieves and we are not prepared to see Kosovo, that was saved because of NATO, turned over to organized criminals and those who use brutality of ethnic nationalism. And we call upon the people of Kosovo to stand up to the thugs and the extremists, stand up to them or be ruled by them. It's the choice that faces people here. Prime Minister Rexhepi and President Rugova have given a very clear statement of their position in regard to extremism, of their commitment to a multi-ethnic, democratic Kosovo and to taking the measures that will minimize the violence and will increase the attractiveness of Kosovo as a destination for returning refugees and also, for inward investment. The organized criminals who still practice their trade here steal the lives of the people of Kosovo. They have no interest in employing young people. They would simply destroy the future by stealing out of the mouths of those who would lead an honest life. I want to congratulate KFOR and the soldiers who are here and who give their time and their service in the interest of the people of Kosovo and to General Mini who had a distinguished career as Commander of KFOR and all of those who served the joint interest of the international community in this part of the world. I also congratulate the joint Kosovo-Albanian, and Kosovo-Serb delegation who went to Thessaloniki last weekend who I met at the European Council meeting. That is a week old, and I told the authorities in Belgrade now to recognize they must start talks with the representatives, the multi-ethnic representatives of people here as well. This is a good step forward. It may well be still too early to talk about the final status of Kosovo, because 1244, resolution 1244 still provides the common framework for the province, but it is good that people are beginning to talk about practical issues. That is the way to follow. With these preliminary comments, then, if there are any questions... Q: Lord Robertson, (inaudible)... public radio. Lord Robertson, you met Michael Steiner and maybe you had the last opportunity in his current position, because he's leaving the position in a couple of days. How do you see Kosovo 16 months' co-operation with Michael Steiner and UNMIK and what's your expectations for his successor? ROBERTSON: Well, I'm a long-time friend of Michael Steiner. I knew him when he was the Chief Aide to Chancellor Schröder in Germany and I have been delighted with the work that he has done. In the interest of the international community, as the U.N.'s Secretary General special representative here, I think his year and a half has been marked by major progress in this area and he has worked well with General Mini in the interest of the people of Kosovo. He is standing down, so am I, standing down at the end of the year. Sometimes you have to know when it's the right time to go and I'm confident that the Secretary General of the United Nations will make a wise choice soon as to Michael Steiner's replacement. We've had high calibre people here in the past. I've no doubt that others can be recruited. But more and more, the elected politicians in Kosovo are going to take more and more responsibility of Kosovo, because it is only the people of Kosovo themselves who will decide whether they want a future of prosperity or of poverty, whether they want a country that is free of violence or one that is consumed by violence. It will be their choice and I hope that they will take the right one with whatever help is available. Q: It is more than two and a half years that an incident at the Kosovo - Macedonian border happened(sic), and everyone is waiting for the report, it was a joint report, by NATO and the Macedonian government on the killing of a journalist and two civilians. So how far have you got and what is that there is making not this report to be published(sic)? ROBERTSON: Well as you probably know, this was an incident of some complexity and it was necessary, not only to get evidence and details from the KFOR side but also from Macedonian authorities as well. Shortly after that, the Macedonian authorities were overwhelmed with the crisis that took place in their country and that slowed up the process. But I think it is a fair question to ask, as to when we'll produce that and perhaps in two weeks time, when the NATO council visits Skopje. We might be able to make some progress on that. Q: It's going to be joint, or NATO unilaterally will report? ROBERTSON: Well, I can't give you an answer to that question at the moment, clearly. The best thing would be a joint report, but the events of 2001 - 2002 were very complicated and very confused. Ideally, you would want to have a joint report and that is why things have been delayed and we will move in as quickly as we possibly can because I believe that those who are affected deserve to know more than they know at the moment. Q: BBC. Just to follow-up on that, my understanding is that the Macedonians have already supplied the relevant information concerning the events of March the 10th, of 2001 and that the report has been sitting with NATO for some time. Why hasn't NATO published it so far? ROBERTSON: That's not my understanding, but I'll be able to make a statement when I'm ready to make a statement. That said, it is not my understanding. Q: You talked about getting a dialogue started between Pristina and Belgrade. Now, from what we understand, such dialogue would not be able to be conducted without the involvement and commitment of the European Union and the United States. Given the rift over the Iraq war and given the engagement that these two major powers have currently in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East peace process, aren't you worried that Kosovo might be sidelined and that these talks would have to be postponed and won't even be able to start sometime this year? ROBERTSON: We are not pessimistic on that at all. I point to yesterday's E.U. - U.S. summit, which was heard by both mister Prodi by President Bush. It's been a huge success. I point to the Thessalonia summit meeting last weekend, when the countries of the Western Balkans, including representatives from here in Kosovo, a multi-ethnic delegation, as well as a delegation from Belgrade were all in the same place talking about the future of this part of the world. So it is high on the priority list. If the Presidents and the Prime Ministers of the European Unions and people like myself, representing NATO and the high representatives from Kosovo and from Bosnia can spend a full morning talking about the western Balkans and these issues in particular, then I do have great hope for the future. And of course, as you know, at Thessaloniki the commitment was made to have these direct talks. That is serious breakthrough and very much welcome and I hope that these talks are as soon as possible. Q: Agence France Presse. What exactly do you see as being a threat to the peace for Kosovo and the region? ROBERTSON: Well, I can't itemize specific threats to people in this area. But there are incidents of violence which could, if we were to relax, turn into something quite different. We have some 23 000 troops here at the moment. We will maintain a level of supervision and a level of troops and we may come to a different figure when we've done that. But the threat of civil disorder can often be there, the threat of organized crime and the way in which they exploit nationalist extremism can also be a threat to the troops in the region as well as the civil population. So we need to maintain an adequate force of a robust nature in order to provide protection and deterrence and we're committed to doing that. Q: I would like to hear from General Mini, what is his assessment of the danger and the problems that are on the ground. Is he more, let's say, optimistic or pessimistic about the possibility of leaving Kosovo within - I don't know if you can mention years, how many years, how much time you should stay here? GENERAL FABIO MINI: You imagine that the Secretary General of NATO can not give you a timeline and that I can give you a timeline and I'm the Commander of the force. What I can tell you is that the assessment of the Secretary General coincides exactly with our troops on the ground in the sense that we see the facts. There is a military presence, as a security presence, it is there to ensure safety and security, in order for the local institutions, the international organizations to be able to work in a safe and free environment. I think that our presence is necessary with the right level of forces ROBERTSON: We'll go home when the job is done and when it's safe to do so. OK? Last question. Very last question. Q: A few hundred Serbs return to Kosovo and only 23 Serbs are in KPC. ROBERTSON: Well, the figures are wrong. Three thousand Serbs came back and for the first time this year, there is a net inflow of Kosovar Serbs back into Kosovo. It took a number of years for the refugees to start going home, and feeling safe for going home in Bosnia. But we always believed that that was going to be the case. Here, as I see it, this is the first time more have come back than have left and I think that that is genuine progress. The fact that there are 24 Serbs in the Kosovo Protection Corps and that further Kosovar Serbs are joining is an indication too that the tide has turned very significantly as well. So the elected government here, has got to maintain that position and to look forward, instead of constantly moving backward.