President of the Republic of Slovenia condemns ransacking of Slovenian Embassy in Belgrade

Ljubljana, 18.2.2008  |  statement

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, responded to the ransacking of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Belgrade yesterday, saying, in a statement to the press, “I condemn neglect on the part of the Serbian authorities, I condemn a course of conduct that led to the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia being ransacked and the state symbols of the Republic of Slovenia and the symbols of the European Union being insulted.” Dr Türk emphasised that waiving protection of the Slovenian Embassy was “a serious breach of international law”, and expressed his expectation that competent authorities in the Republic of Serbia would take appropriate action against the perpetrators. “I expect an apology and compensation to be offered. A protest to this effect was submitted this morning to the Ambassador of the Republic of Serbia in Slovenia,” he stated.

Asked by journalists about Slovenian recognition of Kosovo’s independence, President Türk said consultations on the matter were still in progress. EU Foreign Ministers met in Brussels today to discuss Kosovo. President Türk reported that the Slovenian Government would examine all the aspects of the issue, including the consideration of peace and stability in the region, and would adopt appropriate measures following established Slovenian procedure.

Answering journalists’ questions, the President confirmed that he had that day received a letter from the President of the Republic of Serbia, Boris Tadiĉ, but did not give any further details.