PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro -- Kosovo's ethnic Albanian political leaders will launch a group Tuesday meant to narrow their differences as this U.N.-run province nears possible talks with Serbia over its future status.
Some officials hope the body will help unify the bitterly divided ethnic Albanian political parties so they can develop a strategy ahead of possible final status talks.
The forum -- which comprises political parties, the province's president, prime minister and opposition leaders -- will have a consultative role rather than any executive authority, as demanded by opposition parties here.
Kosovo is legally part of Serbia-Montenegro, the union that replaced Yugoslavia. But it has been under U.N. and NATO control since a NATO-led air war halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999. The province's future political fate has yet to be determined.
The ethnic Albanian majority insists on independence, while the Serb minority seeks to remain part of Serbia-Montenegro.
International officials have made talks on the province's future status conditional on progress in eight sectors, including establishing functioning democratic institutions, reform of local government, protection of minorities, promotion of economic development, and ensuring rule of law, freedom of movement and property rights.
U.N.'s Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report to the council last week that the United Nations will review Kosovo's progress toward achieving standards for democracy and multiethnicity this summer, a move which could pave the way for possible discussion of its future status.
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4 comments:
Some Albanians still thinks that Kosovo will be independent. But no one else seems to think this. Not Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Russia, China etc. The ones who are more and more unsure are Italy, USA, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Great Britain etc.
Read the below ad from Reuters today.
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro (Reuters) - The United States warned Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders on Wednesday they should be ready to compromise in talks with Serbia during which the Albanian majority hope to secure unconditional independence.
The comments by U.S. Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns were the strongest hint yet that talks, which could take place in September or October, would not result in full and immediate independence as demanded by the 90-percent Albanian majority
Kosovo Albanians must be willing to compromise," Burns, the third most senior State Department official, told reporters after meeting political leaders. "We are not going to impose a settlement, we're not even going to say what we support as a final compromise, but we will insist on compromise."
Washington has refused to commit itself publicly to a solution to the fate of Serbia's southern province.
Diplomats in Pristina say Kosovo's fragile democracy is not ready for the responsibilities of a fully independent and sovereign state, particularly after Albanian rioting and arson last year killed 19 people and left 2,000 Serbs homeless. The West is pushing Kosovo's leaders for greater rights for the 100,000 remaining Serbs, but parliament has held up a U.N.-backed project to create new Serb-majority local councils.
VERY interresting !
Russian papers are reporting that Osetia is getting independence at the same time with Kosova. Osetia by the way has a Russian popullation. Can this suggest that Russia is ready to sell its vote?
My dear Serb friend, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Russia and China are not Serbia. Stop trying to bind them to a country famous for genocide.
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