Kosovo mediator seeks retraction of Serb comment

LONDON - The European Union's mediator on Kosovo demanded on Thursday that a Serbian negotiator retract comments apparently suggesting war was an option if Albanians in the breakaway province declare independence.

Serbia has repeatedly ruled out going to war over territory it lost formal control over in 1999, and where the Albanian majority now says it will strike out alone within months.

But EU mediator Wolfgang Ischinger expressed concern at comments made by an adviser to Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica in which he said "war is a legal tool" when the will of the U.N. Security Council is violated.

"I believe it is inadmissible and intolerable that even before the troika report is out one of the parties expresses itself in this way," Ischinger told reporters in London.

"I do hope that this statement was not authorised. I expect it to be retracted and I expect the Serbian side to make sure that it does honour and remain committed to the statements it has made to the troika," he added.

Ischinger and mediators from the United States and Russia, known as the troika, are to submit a report by Monday to the United Nations on four months of failed negotiations between Serbs and Albanians on the fate of the breakaway province.

Kosovo Albanians are expected to declare independence early next year, with the backing of the West.

Asked on a talk show on Serbian state television whether war was a legal and political option for a country to defend its interests, Kostunica's adviser, Aleksandar Simic, replied:

"War is also legitimate in defending a state's interests. Serbia is very determined to use all means in defending its interests. War is a legal tool when someone does not respect the Security Council and especially Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter."

Ischinger read from a news report quoting Simic as saying: "The state has no recourse other than war when someone does not respect the U.N. Security Council."

Kostunica's party spokesman said that Simic's statement was theoretical and had been taken out of context.