Not all the issues were covered by the official statements and press conferences in the wake of the meeting between EU leaders and Mr Kustonica in Biarritz. They failed to reflect the various aspects of the stance adopted by the new Serb authorities. In an interview with an Italian TV station (RAI 1, interview with Enzo Biagi) Mr Kustonica spoke about various topics:
What the bombings of 1998 left engraved on the hearts and memories of the Serb people. "They left painful memories. We can never forget what happened. We had the feeling that a crime had been committed it has to be stressed time and time again. This tragedy could have been averted, first of all by Mr Milosevic himself, who was guilty of pursuing a mistaken policy for so many years. However NATO and the United States were duty-bound to weigh up the awful consequences: the civilian casualties, the destruction of infrastructures. No, the Serbs can never forget."
The Kosovo problem. "It is not just a problem for Serbia and Yugoslavia. Kosovo is a problem for the all the Balkan states, for Europe and for the world's conscience. Kosovo is now in a state of chaos, crimes are being committed, laws are not being observed. This, the civilised world and Europe, should not allow to happen. The international community's intervention to prevent a humanitarian tragedy, to create freedom and security, to promote the emergence of a multiethnic society, as the Americans claim, has had the opposite effect. There is no peace in Kosovo, neither for the Serbs nor for most the Albanians themselves, who are now frightened of the hard-line elements amongst their fellow citizens. That is the situation right now in Kosovo."