Serbian President Boris Tadic said Tuesday that the problem of Kosovo and Metohija (KiM) calls for finding a creative solution that would satisfy not only the interests of Serbs and Albanians, but also the interests of great powers.

“We need to find allies in this process. This problem has been internationalized and so we need to find a solution in the international field. The Kosovo issue is essentially decided by the great powers, the members of the Security Council, plus Germany,” Tadic said in an interview for the new issue of Nedeljnik, a Belgrade-based weekly.

Tadic said that some of the different solutions that had been proposed in the past, such as substantial autonomy or partition, were either outdated or did not have the support of key players in the international community.

“Now we have to consider other solutions - the models of Northern Ireland, South Tyrol, Aland Islands, or some solutions from the territory of former Yugoslavia,” said Tadic.

The solution, he said, must contain four essential points: in particular, a solution for the administration of Serb monasteries and monastic complexes, special guarantees for the Serbs in the enclaves, regulations regarding the property of Serb citizens and the state of Serbia, and especially a solution for northern Kosovo.

“Those who decide about Kosovo do not want a frozen conflict, and this would not be good for us anyway. We have to take our solution before those who decide on such matters in the international arena. I talked about it with all key parties in Serbia and we all had a high level of agreement, except with the SRS (the Serbian Radical Party) and the DSS (the Democratic Party of Serbia). However, now is not the time for internal debates, but rather a time to check how viable the solution that we have in mind can be before the key actors of the international community,” said Tadic.

Serbia cannot achieve its interests in Kosovo without alliances at the international level, and these interests have been suspended in the international arena after the 1990's, he said.
“Because of the errors and crimes in which were our countrymen were among the actors, our country has for years been the pillar of shame and has had to struggle for the legitimization of its national interests,” Tadic pointed out.

Now, in the new and difficult circumstances, Serbia can no longer wait and has to protect its interests in the international arena, Tadic said.