Presidents and premiers hold first Kosovo meet
VIENNA: The presidents and prime ministers from Belgrade and Pristina plan to congregate in Vienna today for the first direct talks on the future status of the Serbian province of Kosovo, which has been under UN administration since 1999. By invitation of UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari, those taking part include Serbian President Boris Tadic, Premier Vojislav Kostunica and Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic. On the Pristina side, President Fatmir Sejdiu, Prime Minister Agim Ceku and Speaker of Parliament Kole Berisha plan to attend. Each side is expected to have a total of about 15 delegates.
Attending on Pristina’s side are politicians who already took part in the failed Rambouillet Kosovo peace negotiations more than seven years ago, including then delegation chief and present opposition politician Hashim Thaci and leader of the Ora movement Veton Surroi. The opposing views are still far apart. On Saturday, Kostunica said: “The sooner the dangerous idea is forgotten of setting up a new state on the territory of Serbia, the better for us all, and certainly also for the lasting stability of the region as a whole.” But the Pristina side continues to say that full independence is the only acceptable
solution. A major breakthrough is not expected in Vienna. Belgrade sources already term Ahtisaari’s task of reconciling two diametrically opposed views as “mission impossible.” The Belgrade newspaper Blic said on Friday that the US had drafted a plan for Serbia’s future international status. It included “conditional independence” for Kosovo by autumn 2007, and Serbia’s European Union accession by 2014. On Saturday, Foreign Minister of the summit’s host-nation Austria Ursula Plassnik appealed to the two sides to use the opportunity. “Belgrade and Pristina have the chance now, with the help of the international community, to reach a negotiated solution. There must be more realism and commitment,” she said.
Attending on Pristina’s side are politicians who already took part in the failed Rambouillet Kosovo peace negotiations more than seven years ago, including then delegation chief and present opposition politician Hashim Thaci and leader of the Ora movement Veton Surroi. The opposing views are still far apart. On Saturday, Kostunica said: “The sooner the dangerous idea is forgotten of setting up a new state on the territory of Serbia, the better for us all, and certainly also for the lasting stability of the region as a whole.” But the Pristina side continues to say that full independence is the only acceptable
solution. A major breakthrough is not expected in Vienna. Belgrade sources already term Ahtisaari’s task of reconciling two diametrically opposed views as “mission impossible.” The Belgrade newspaper Blic said on Friday that the US had drafted a plan for Serbia’s future international status. It included “conditional independence” for Kosovo by autumn 2007, and Serbia’s European Union accession by 2014. On Saturday, Foreign Minister of the summit’s host-nation Austria Ursula Plassnik appealed to the two sides to use the opportunity. “Belgrade and Pristina have the chance now, with the help of the international community, to reach a negotiated solution. There must be more realism and commitment,” she said.
