BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, Aug. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- A UN special envoy said here Monday that he would like to see Belgrade play a constructive role in supporting Kosovo's Serbs' entrance into local institutions.
UN special envoy Kai Eide was appointed by Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, in June to evaluate the degree to which standards have been met in reaching democracy and human rights targets in Kosovo. He started on Monday his third and final visit here before he presents an assessment report in September.
"It is not necessarily true that the ethnic Albanian majority will misuse the participation of Serbs in the work of parliament,"Eide said after holding talks with Serbia-Montenegrin Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic.
Eide said that there was a need for Kosovo Serbs to be more engaged in the processes that are underway in Kosovo.
Although he had earlier expressed dissatisfaction with the situation in Kosovo, he did not rule out the possibility of a better assessment provided constructive progress was achieved in the province.
"It is necessary to achieve greater progress not only in the field of inter-ethnic relations, but also in the area of the rule of law in Kosovo," Eide said.
Draskovic said he was confident that Eide's report to UN would be objective and that Eide would recommend a solution he sincerelybelieved was the best at this point.
"Kosovo is not even close to the point when talks on its final status can start," Draskovic said, adding that the future status of Kosovo can be determined by way of Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.
Draskovic said that Belgrade's plan expressed in the formula "more than autonomy, short of independence" was the best solution for the problems in Kosovo.
Kosovo, which is a province of Serbia, has been under UN administration since the end of Kosovo war in June 1999. Starting talks about its future status is subject to Eide's assessment report to the UN Security Council. Enditem
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Last spring both U.S. Undeceretary of State Nicholas Burns and the EU issued statements on Kosova that included words to the effect that Kosova's authorities will not be held responsible for failure in meeting the inclusion of minorities standard if it is the Serbs who are failing to ccoperate.
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