[JURIST] Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic [official profile] presented a formal request [press release] to the UN General Assembly [official website] Friday seeking a determination by the International Court of Justice [official website] on the legality of Kosovo's February declaration of independence [JURIST report; JURIST news archive] from Serbia. Jeremic sought to have the anticipated request [JURIST report] included on the agenda for the General Assembly's upcoming 63rd Session [meeting schedule] in September. Jeremic said his goal is to obtain an advisory opinion on the legality of the unilateral independence proclamation, to stop further recognition of Kosovo's independence, and to ultimately return to negotiations with Kosovo. AFP has more.

Kosovo declared its independence after negotiations on a UN-supervised independence plan stalled last year in part due to objections [JURIST reports] from Russia and Serbia's insistence that the province should only be given autonomous status short of full independence.