Ljubljana, 19 July (STA) - Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku is to expected
to arrive to Slovenia on Wednesday and present his views on the future
status of Kosovo to his Slovenian counterpart Janez Jansa, Foreign
Minister Dimitrij Rupel and Parliament Speaker France Cukjati on Thursday.
According to the prime minister's office, Ceku and Jansa would discuss the
ongoing talks on the future status of the province as well as touch upon
Slovenia's contribution towards a stable development of the region and the
increasing economic cooperation.
The seventh and eighth round of talks on the future of the predominantly
ethnic Albanian province are taking place in Vienna. The talks are
currently focused on the devolution of powers and the preservation of
Serbian religious and cultural heritage.
The United Nations' special envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, has
invited leading Serbian and Kosovo politicians to discuss the status of
the province for the first time next week.
Rupel said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday that conditions
for Kosovo's independence would only be fulfilled after Serbia joins the
EU, provided that the country meets European standards.
Slovenian views on the situation in the region also formed parts of talks
during Jansa's recent visit to the US. The prime minister said after
meeting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that any solution should
bring stability to the region.
That the status talks should end by 2006 was one of the key positions
agreed upon on 31 January by the Kosovo contact group, which consists of
the US, the UK, Russia, Italy, Germany and France.
This is not Ceku's first visit to Slovenia. He was arrested at the
Ljubljana Airport in October 2003 on an Interpol arrest warrant issued by
Serbia.
Ceku was apprehended for his role as commander of the Kosovo Protection
Corps, a civilian emergency organisation created after the disbanding of
the Kosovo Liberation Army, which Ceku led in 1999.
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