EU could accept brief delay in Kosovo talks
Source: Reuters
(Changes dateline, adds Serb PM, edits) By David Brunnstrom and Matt Robinson BELGRADE/PRISTINA, Serbia, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A brief delay would be acceptable before a final round of U.N.-mediated talks on the future of Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Wednesday. A delay would suit Serbia. But Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica stressed that it would not change his bottom line -- that Kosovo can never become independent as proposed. Serbia wants a 10-day pause before last-ditch talks with Kosovo Albanian leaders, so that it can convene a new parliament elected two weeks ago and authorise a negotiating team. "Anything that is reasonable ... can be acceptable," Solana said in Kosovo, the first leg of his visit on Wednesday. This meant a delay of "maybe a week", he added. The next round of talks would be the last step in a one-year process led by U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari, who last Friday unveiled a plan that gives Kosovo independence in all but name. The envoy is not optimistic of a last-minute compromise but has invited both sides to meet him in Vienna beginning next Tuesday. The Albanians accepted, but Serbia has not replied. Solana said Serbia should use a delay in the talks to form its parliament and renew the mandate of its Kosovo negotiating team. Belgrade says that without a new mandate, no officials could legitimately represent Serbia in the talks. "I don't think we should risk credibility for a question of a week," Solana said. "We want them to get engaged and move the proposal ahead." At a news conference in Belgrade, the two sides appeared to talk past each other. Solana and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the EU presidency, stressed that Serbia should be "constructive" and keep in mind its future in the European Union. Kostunica insisted Serbia would not acquiesce in a plan that entails the dismemberment of the country. "Serbia will be constructive but it will also be unbending in its efforts to ensure respect ... for its territorial integrity," he said. DELAY WON'T CHANGE MUCH NATO wrested control of Kosovo from Serbia in 1999 to halt the slaughter of civilians in a counter-guerrilla war. Serbia wants its sovereignty reinstated and is offering the 90 percent Albanian majority "substantial autonomy", which they reject. The six-power Contact Group on Kosovo postponed Ahtisaari's plan last November, in order to avoid inflaming nationalist passions in the Serbian general election of Jan. 21. Diplomats caution patience is running out among Kosovo Albanians, who blame the eight-year political limbo for a stagnant economy and 50 percent unemployment. They warn any lengthy delay could spark unrest in the province. Solana echoed the worry, saying he hoped Kosovo's people and institutions will be "up to the responsibility of this time". A delay could also reflect a shift within the Contact Group -- the United States, Russia, France, Britain, Germany and Italy -- which has shared responsibility for Kosovo since 1999. The Western five have made clear they favour independence for Kosovo, but Russia, a fellow Orthodox nation and sometime Serbia ally, is against an "imposed settlement". Far from unquestioningly backing Serbia, however, Moscow recently has also urged Belgrade to be "constructive". Some in Kosovo are fed up with negotiations. Activists plan a Saturday protest saying the U.N plan does not go far enough. The Kosovo daily Zeri said it would make no difference to Serbia's stance if the talks were postponed for 10 years: "Delay and procrastination ... is Belgrade's only negotiating strategy." (additional reporting by Beti Bilandzic and Shaban Buza)
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |
