China:Kosovo issue should be solved through dialogue
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China said on Thursday that the complicated and sensitive issue should be solved by parties concerned through dialogue within the framework of relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The statement came as Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, took the floor at a General Assembly meeting after a resolution on Kosovo was adopted.
"The Kosovo question is very complicated and sensitive, it concerns peace and security in the Balkan region and Europe as a whole," Wang said.
"We have always maintained that the best way forward is for the parties concerned to seek a mutually acceptable solution through dialogue within the framework of relevant Security Council resolutions," he said.
China had noted the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and was aware of the fact that different parties held different views, he said.
"China has always held that respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity are fundamental principles and the basis for the international legal order of our time," he said. "As such, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of UN member states should be respected."
"The ICJ's advisory opinion should not preclude the parties concerned from finding a proper negotiated solution to the problem," he added.
Kosovo, an autonomous province of Serbia, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia two years ago.
Earlier on Thursday, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic told the General Assembly meeting that "common ground has been reached by ensuring the resolution is fundamentally a status-neutral document."
"The Republic of Serbia does not and shall not recognize the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo," the foreign minister added.
In October 2008, Serbia demanded the UN General Assembly ask the ICJ to issue an opinion on the legality of Kosovo's breakaway.
In the resolution adopted on Thursday afternoon by consensus, the General Assembly said "the process of dialogue in itself would be a factor for peace, security and stability in the region, and that dialogue would be to promote cooperation, achieve progress on the path to the European Union and improve the lives of the people."
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