Serbia considers financial squeeze on Kosovo

Serbia may drop a £600m (€787.6m) international debt bill on Kosovo in revenge for its declaration of independence.

Serbia is currently continuing to pay off the debt but Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said the government would form a special team to deal with the issue and negotiate with foreign creditors.

Serbia has accepted responsibility for the debt, although it has not had any authority over the province since the 1999 war when Nato forced Belgrade to end a crackdown against Kosovo’s separatists.

Kosovo declared independence on Feb. 17, winning swift recognition from the United States and its Western allies.

However, the debt plan has led to a rift within Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s government, with nationalists arguing that Serbia must keep paying to retain its claim on Kosovo.

Serbia’s ruling coalition also is split over whether the country should pursue membership in the European Union after many members recognised Kosovo’s declared independence.

Mr Kostunica suggested today that Serbia would seek to establish closer ties with the EU only if it agreed that Kosovo is part of the country.

“For us, Serbia includes Kosovo for sure,” Mr Kostunica said. “Serbia cannot actually accept to be the only EU member whose territorial integrity is not recognised.”

Making good on its pledge to try to block Kosovo from joining international organisations, Serbia refused to take part in a meeting of foreign ministers in Sofia, Bulgaria, at the same time a delegate from Kosovo was at the table.

“Kosovo will not be a member of the United Nations; it will not be a member of the OSCE. And as such, it will not belong to the world community of sovereign nations,” Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said.

Serbia, which considers Kosovo the cradle of its religion and statehood, rejects Kosovo’s declaration of independence, which has been followed by a wave of violent protests in Serbia and Kosovo that raised fears of a wider conflict.

In Kosovo today more than 100 Serb police officers failed to show up for work in an apparent attempt to undermine the authorities of the newly independent state.

Police said top officials were debating what measure to take against the Serb officers. Kosovo’s 7,000-strong police force is mostly ethnic Albanian. Serbs serve in areas where they are in the majority.