Belgrade: Serbia yesterday calls on the UN and all its member nations to fully respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity and not to recognize the illegal and unilaterally proclaimed independence of the province of Kosovo and Metohija.

The call, addressed to the UN and UNMIK, is part of the report by the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija sent to report UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Serbia said that it expects from the UN representative in the province to undertake corresponding steps.

The call was Serbian response to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has arranged for the UN SC session on Kosovo scheduled for April 21, which deals with the work of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) over the past three months.

The act of secession is in contradiction with the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act (OSCE), with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and international documents - UN SC Resolution 1244 (1999) and the Military Technical Agreement (1999) - on the basis of which the province was temporarily governed by UNMIK and KFOR.

Saying that the unilateral proclamation of independence by secessionists in the Kosovo-Metohija province represented a threat to the stability of Serbia an the region itself, Serbia Ministry urged the UN members to not to support the independent status of Kosovo-Metohija and not to recognize their unilaterally proclaimed independence.

Serbian Ministry said, having recognized the independence, these UN member countries recognized the right to secession of part of the territory of one of the body’s member countries without its consent.

Serbia demanded an urgent renewal of UNMIK’s original mandate, all in keeping with Resolution 1244, the UN Charter and the principle of impartiality.