Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me begin by thanking our hosts, the Islamic Republic of Iran, for the excellent organization and warm hospitality in Tehran throughout the XVIth Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement.

I come before this distinguished gathering of states representing a country that is an observer, yet also the largest successor to a co-founder of the Movement, the Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia.

Our capital, Belgrade, a city generations of NAM members remember with deep affection, played host to two of the Movement's Summits and numerous ministerial meetings over several decades.

We are proud that last September, Belgrade hosted a Commemorative Meeting to mark the Fiftieth Anniversary of the First Non-Aligned Summit, which was held five decades ago in our nation's capital.

Allow me to extend my sincere appreciation to the more than 100 nations that were represented on that grand occasion. Together, we paid a distinguished tribute to the vision and statesmanship of the Movement's founders.

Excellencies,

The Republic of Serbia as a European country is profoundly devoted to the goal of becoming a member of the European Union. Certainly, it is also deeply respectful of the Movement's legacy and achievements, its fundamental values, principles and purposes. We feel a great sense of solidarity with NAM, embracing the forward-looking vision articulated by the Movement's current membership.

The Tehran Final Document will be a part of a strategic blueprint for how to address both enduring and emerging geopolitical challenges. It emphasizes the importance of creating a peaceful and prosperous world, framed by a just and equitable international system.

To do so, the structures of global governance will need to be updated, because their institutional architecture still remains much as it was during the Cold War era.

Support will also have to be renewed for NAM's longstanding efforts at collective emancipation from existing economic inequalities. To that end, existing international economic institutions should be restructured, in order to better reflect coming economic realities and implement in full the right to development for all.

An additional priority will continue to be strengthening dialogue amongst cultures, civilizations and religions. Nuclear non-proliferation, a nuclear weapons free world, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy will likewise need to be respected in line with the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and all other relevant international instruments.

Another reference point will be the efficiency of the United Nations. We need to reach a consensus on how to reform the Security Council, but also how to revitalize the General Assembly. In my view, enhancing its role is of unquestionable importance to all of us.

We are pleased of the fact that my immediate predecessor, Mr. Vuk Jeremić, was elected President of the UN General Assembly for the forthcoming 67th session.

Many NAM member states cast their vote for the Serbian candidature. Allow me to express my gratitude to each country that placed its confidence in our ability to preside over the body that the Millennium Declaration defined as the "main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations."

Excellencies,

The new Government of the Republic of Serbia will continue to deepen our nation's active engagement with the Movement's member states. Through the use of a number of bilateral instruments of cooperation, we hope to bring our peoples closer together. For instance, we hope to increase the number of scholarships we have offered, as part of our "World in Serbia" Scholarship Fund. Already, hundreds of young people from NAM countries have been enrolled at the University of Belgrade, studying medicine, agriculture, engineering, and many other fields that will contribute to the sustainable development of their respective nations.

We will keep reaching out to our Non-Aligned friends, with the aim of enhancing respect for the binding principles of the UN Charter by all. Strengthening a rules-based approach to world affairs is in our common interest, beginning with the fundamental respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of UN member-States. This accords with paragraph 5 of today's concluding document, which reaffirms the Movement's commitment to uphold this bedrock principle enshrined in the UN Charter.

It is with this in mind that I turn to one of the most profound challenges we face as a nation. I speak of the illegal attempt by the ethnic-Albanian authorities of our southern province of Kosovo and Metohija to change the borders of Serbia through unilateral secession.

I want to be very clear that we will never, under any circumstances, recognize the UDI—the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo's ethnic-Albanian minority authorities.

This will remain our position not only because of the danger Kosovo separatists pose to Serbia's constitutional order, but also because Kosovo's UDI represents a precedent that secessionists across the world would be able to follow.

Imagine how many countries represented in this hall would be affected. The borders of every multiethnic state could be threatened, producing instability in all corners of the globe.

Just a few days ago, Kosovo's secessionist authorities produced a supposed letter of recognition from our brothers in the Republic of Mali. This deceitful document turned out to be a forgery.

The Malian presidency issued a statement that "categorically denies this falsehood which intends to tarnish the image of Mali."

Excellencies,

Before proceeding any further, I would like to express my country's sincere gratitude to the great majority of NAM member states that respect Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity by not recognizing the separatists in Kosovo.

Your continued respect for Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity is truly gratifying. I appeal to you to continue to refrain from recognizing any solution to Kosovo that is not the product of a clear and final agreement between the parties.

Let me be clear: Serbia is firmly committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution on Kosovo. We remain committed to negotiating with the province's ethnic-Albanian authorities. Dialogue is the only road to peace in Kosovo.

This will remain Serbia's position— irrespective of the findings contained in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's deeply disturbing report entitled "Investigation of Allegations of Inhuman Treatment of People and Illicit Trafficking in Human Organs in Kosovo."

The report says that as early as 1998, many who now hold senior positions in the so-called government of Kosovo—have headed an organized crime group engaged in drugs, weapons and human smuggling.

It also says they were involved in human organ trafficking as an instrument of war and nefarious profit.

The report says that hundreds of Serbs were abducted in Kosovo before, during and immediately after the 1999 conflict and sent to secret detention camps in the neighboring country of Albania. Many of the victims were subsequently selected for forced surgery, before being murdered. Their internal body organs were extracted and sold on the international black market.
If proven true, this would constitute an entirely new category of war crime and crime against humanity.

My Friends,

I have no doubt the spirit of Non-Alignment will carry the day.

By working together, by demonstrating continued solidarity and rejecting unilateralism, and by giving negotiations a chance to succeed, we can prevent a dangerous precedent from taking hold, and we can help construct an international order for the 21st century where reaching an agreement between the parties is the only legitimate, sustainable way to resolve disputes anywhere in the world.

Thank you very much for your attention.