US wants issue of Kosovo's political and legal status to be settled by year-end

Bucharest, May 24 /Rompres/ - The US wants a solution for the final statute of the Kosovo province to be identified by the end of 2006, Ambassador Frank Wisner, Jr, Washington's special representative in the UN Commission on neogtiations for the Kosovo status chaired by Martti Ahtisaari.

The American official on Wednesday met Romanian Foreign Affairs Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu, with whom he approached the issue of the Belgrade-Pristina negotiations and the future impact of the solution regarding Kosovo's status on regional stability.

"We want this remainder of the conflict in former Yugoslavia to stay behind in the past for us to focus as quickly as possible on the future. This future implies that all countries of former Yugoslavia, Kosovo and Serbia included, should become members of the Western and European family," said the American official.

He mentioned that the US is aware the fact that the solution identified following negotiations will affect not only the life of Kosovo's population, but of the entire region as well. Frank Wisner, Jr, said that Washington attached a high value to Romania's opinions regarding the Balkan region.

In his turn, Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu underscored that Romania believed in the full involvement of the EU and of the international community in identifying a solution for Kosovo, but said that the voice of the South-East European states also needed to be listened to.

"The role of South-East European states is extremely important, but so far it was insufficiently capitalised on in talks about the status of the province. Romania's sensitivity to the situation in Kosovo and Serbia, and in the Balkans in general, can be a solid argument for a helpful Romanian political presence," said Foreign Minister Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu.

He reiterated Romania's concern over how fundamental human rights, civil freedoms, the right to ethnic and cultural difference, the right to participate in administrative and political activities were defended in Kosovo.

Mihai-Razvan Ungureanu reminded that, in the last month, the Romanian diplomacy had undertaken several rounds of consultations about the situation in Kosovo, starting with President Traian Basescu's visit to Belgrade and ending with the meeting last week in Strasbourg between the Romanian Foreign Minister and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, special representative of the UN Secretary-General for the status of Kosovo and moderator of the negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade.