Press Conference, 28 February 2002

SRSG Michael Steiner
UNMIK Spokeswoman Susan Manuel

UNMIK Spokeswoman Susan Manuel

Good afternoon,

I would like to welcome again SRSG, Michael Steiner, who will tell you about late night last night.

Mr Steiner…

SRSG Michael Steiner

Thank you Susan,

You can imagine that we are extremely pleased with the Agreement which has been reached very early this morning; the Agreement on the President and on the Government, but at the same time I am slightly tired so excuse me for this one because these were quite intensive, not easy talks, long talks. Generally the parties were constructive, and I think what is important now is that the Assembly of Kosovo is called in for next Monday to implement the Agreement.

The parties decided on choosing Dr. Ibrahim Rugova as President and Bajram Rexhepi as Prime Minster, and I think this was a very wise decision. I called Mr. Rexhepi at around two o’clock this morning after we had the signature. It was a very friendly talk; meanwhile I’ve seen him already in the office where we already started to talk abut the technicalities for the case if the designated Prime Minster will be elected by the Parliament. I know he has been working hard in the past for Kosovo, and I know also that he will continue to that and he told me that he is ready to put all his energy if he is elected by the Parliament into this difficult but at the same time challenging post with the aim to help Kosovo and it’s people.

I think he will be very positive for Kosovo. He is doctor, he is acceptable to all, and I am convinced also after having talked to him that he is committed to an inclusive and democratic and prosperous Kosovo.

I think it is important that he is well respected from all sides here in Kosovo, by all Kosovo communities, and also the International community. It happened by chance I must say, but it happened nicely that we both had the chance to met the Commander in Chief Allied Forces for Southern Europe, Admiral Johnson, and you know that Admiral Johnson is what they call in the United States a Top Gun, the four stars admiral, quite impressive I must say, but we were both pleased that he expressed the full support of NATO for the designated Prime Minster and myself.

I am also grateful that meanwhile Kofi Annan called from Berlin; who is actually at the moment in Berlin, with the supportive message. The same is true in view of Javier Solana who also is pleased that we have this progress.

Obviously, we are happy about this result because the deadlock was broken, but this does not mean that we can go now on vacation. On the contrary, the work only starts. And the first next step that we need to tackle is of course the implementation in the Parliament. Seen that, we need now to name, after nomination by the parties of the ministers, we need the names of the ministers in order that we can get the whole package for the Government.

So that is the next work, but allow me to say at this juncture that I really have the impression that Kosovo has made a very important step forward.

Thank you.

Susan Manuel: Thank you very much. Can you take some questions?

SRSG: Sure.

Q: Mr. Steiner, how do you justify going against the Constitutional Framework in distribution of the ministries?

SRSG: I don’t see that we went in any way against the Constitutional Framework Agreement because that is also what has been accepted by the parties. I think it is perfectly in line if the Assembly agrees, as we hope, by a broad majority. Everything is perfectly in line with what we have agreed and what we have is Constitutional Framework here, and I don’t see any contradiction whatsoever against the constitutional corner stones on which we have to base everything what we are doing here.

Q: Mr. Steiner, do you plan to have deputy Prime Ministers, because there are some reports in the media, you know, that already there are mentioned the names of deputy Prime Ministers?

SRSG: No, it is not planned to have a deputy Prime Minister as you can see in the Agreement this has not been foreseen by party leaders, so that is not a question that needs to be tackled.

Q: Mr. Steiner, can I ask you to give me a statement in your native language, German? Two questions are…

SRSG: Can we do that at the end?

Q: Of course, no problem. Thank you.

SM: You could do them in English if you would like to share them. Bojan.

Q: Mr. Steiner, after Kosovo institution, what is your next priority?

SRSG: As I’ve said already, I think somehow we need to cash in this success if the Assembly makes the decision as we expect the Assembly to do; I will go on a short trip to the international community; to Brussels to report to the foreign ministers of the European Union and I will then visit some Contact Group capitals to report.
When I come back I think the next issue that probably we need to get on are the economic questions, and I think one of the first priorities, if such a thing exists, should be the question of privatization. I think this is something which we need to get going because this is one of the preconditions that we get also the economy going.

Q: Mr. Steiner, are you planning to take with you in this trip President and the Prime Minister, if they are elected?

SRSG: No, I am not planning to do that. I think there will be plenty opportunities to do that, but that is maybe not for the immediate moment because I think that probably the President and the Prime Minister might wish to install themselves first, to get acquainted with their offices, to get acquainted with the support staff. This will come, of course, but we have to choose the right moment. I don’t have any strong feelings; but I have not seen that there is the wish from the parties to do that right now. I think what they want to do is probably first to get acquainted with their new environment.

Q: Have you already appointed which minister’s seat will go to which party?

SRSG: No, we have, as you know, the Agreement where we have a clear agreement concerning the numbers. Now, this is the next step. I mean one step is how will do what concerning the ministries, and then the names. I think the guiding principle we should have here is qualification. If you want to work in the interest of Kosovo, you need qualified people to do these jobs. I would also urge the party leaders, and I think they understand that, that now is the moment to have the best people for all these challenging jobs.

Q: Do you have the deadline for forming of the new Government? When do you think it will be formed, and when do you want it to be formed?

SRSG: I mean, the parties themselves have established a deadline, so to speak, because they have expressed their wish and support for the Assembly meeting on Monday. So, this is now the next date we have to face, and I think we should prepare this date in the best way, and one of the necessary preparations is, of course, to talk about the ministers and the personalities, who, as I said, should have first and foremost the best qualifications for these jobs.

Q: Mr. Steiner, did they divide the ministries; which ministry will go to which party? Are we going to face another deadline there?

SRSG: Listen, I think this is a slight repetition of what we have said now. I understand the meaning of your question. I think that the political questions have been solved in a spirit of compromise, you know, it has taken quite a while but we have achieved that. So I think the political questions are answered. What we have now to tackle are questions of qualifications. It is not so much a political question; it is the question does a person fulfill the requirements for the respective job, so I would think we are not at the same level of political differences as we have seen it in the past. I think it can be done and I hope very much that there is readiness for doing so. The party leaders have expressed their readiness to tackle this issue quickly.

Q: When we talk about priority, can we include in that the return and freedom of movement?

SRSG: Yes, there is no doubt. If you look at the Agreement, which probably you have all seen, if you see there are certain principles and priorities outlined by the parties. I think this is very impressive because one of the priorities is exactly the relationship of this future Government to the different ethnic communities. So my understanding is that the parties are committed to the goals of the Framework Agreement, to the goals of 1244. Of course, one of the tasks which we all have to tackle is the issues of creating the right environment, the secure environment for all the communities and of course, also creating the preconditions of those who want to return that they can do so.

Q: Mr. Steiner, I took someone like you; it took the new SRSG to reach the Agreement. You signed the document as a witness. What is your level of sharing the responsibility on the successes and failure of this Government? Since you said that you would not impose the solution.

SRSG: It is a success of the parties.

Q: And in case of failure?

SRSG: I think I am not betting on …, I am betting on success; I’ve done it so far it worked well, I think so, so I will continue to that.

Thank you very much.