Remarks at Press Conference Following Meeting With the Foreign Minister of Serbia and Montenegro, Vuk Draskovic

I come here to Belgrade today first and foremost to congratulate the people of Serbia on the decision that they have made to continue democratic reform. We want Serbia and Montenegro to succeed. We want Serbia and Montenegro to continue on the path to Euro-Atlantic institutions, the European Union, and Partnership for Peace. As the Minister said, there are substantial obstacles in the way for that integration.

It is the time for those obstacles to be moved away. And as the Minister said, that is the matter of meeting the obligations to The Hague Tribunal. And as I said to the Minister, that is not something that you should do to please the United States, or to please the Europeans, but it is something you should do because it is right for the Serbian people. And it is an obligation you hold for yourselves.

I very much appreciated the points that the Minister made to me about his commitment to meet these obligations. It’s time for Mr. Mladic to be in The Hague. It’s time for the four generals to be in The Hague. An it’s time for justice to be done. As the Minister said, we also had a chance to talk about Kosovo. I will travel to Pristina this afternoon and my message there will also be a simple one. We want to see progress on standards and on implementation of standards because, as the Minister said, these standards are European standards. They are about democracy, the protection of minority rights, privatization and a successful economy.

These are the things we wish to see in Kosovo. I also told the Minister that we also are absolutely committed to see the rebuilding of those houses that were damaged or destroyed in March. While I was here in March I said that the violence is unacceptable and should not be repeated. And one way to show that is to rebuild what was damaged. We want to encourage that. So, Mr. Minister, again I thank you very much for your time and for your efforts and for your commitment not only to the relationship between your country and the United States but to the perseverance of this effort for democracy and perseverance of the effort to (join) Euro-Atlantic institutions. We are off to see the Prime Minister.

QUESTION: Just a few questions please. You talked about the obstacle, the obligations to The Hague Tribunal. What are those obstacles? (inaudible)

UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Well, I believe that the obligation is to arrest and transfer Mr. Mladic. To follow through with either the arrest or surrender of the generals and their transfer to The Hague. And other obligations that are there for The Tribunal. And as I said, it’s our obligation here to support the Government as they pursue these obligations. And I say again that this is something that should be done not to please us or to please anyone who is not Serbian. It is something that people here should do for their own conscience and for their own way forward because it is right.

QUESTION: Do you expect more (inaudible) after Mr. Tadic was elected for the President?

UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Well, Mr. Tadic obviously will have to speak for himself but I have very great confidence that this Government, including the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister and President-elect Tadic, will take seriously the public statements that they have made to meet international obligations.

OK, I’ll take one more then I’ve got to go.

QUESTION: (inaudible)

UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Our position is that when Mr. Mladic is in The Hague that we would support with the tribunal -- we don’t run the tribunal -- but we would support with the tribunal the domestic prosecution of the other indictees. So that position that we talked about in November is exactly the same. But don’t be confused. It’s with Mr. Mladic in The Hague.