“UN decision on Kosovo - one of options”

“UN decision on Kosovo - one of options”

“The United States adhere to the position that independence is the best solution for the future of the province,” Polt said.

Polt, whose ambassadorial term in office ends this summer, stressed that Washington did not believe that a new round of negotiations would be of any major use in the process, but agreed to participate in a new attempt that would “bring the debate to an end.”

According to him, over the next several weeks, or even days, the Contact Group will decide on a way to handle the new round of talks.

“The end of the negotiating process will be marked by the decision on the province’s status. If it can be reached at the UN Security Council, we will welcome it, but in case it is not, we will have to seek another way to settle the status. We are seeking a status decision one way or another,” Polt said.

Asked whether the unilateral recognition of Kosovo’s independence was an alternative, he explained that “it would be a joint action taken by those states and peoples that share the same opinion about the way to move ahead.”

He added that the U.S. still believed that the Ahtisaari plan was good and reflected reality, insisting that the document received majority support at the UN.

“Serbia and Russia are to be held responsible that the Kosovo issue has not yet been solved,” Polt said.

“We are not trying to evade responsibility. Quite the contrary, we kept proposing one draft resolution after another. The UN secretary-general and the majority at the UN approved of UN Special Kosovo Envoy’s report as a way to move the process forward,” the ambassador stressed.

“Nonetheless, the process has been blocked only because Russia on behalf of Serbia obstructed the adoption of a resolution. If it had not happened, the Kosovo issue would have been settled by now."

"We could have moved ahead, turning to a brighter future for Serbia and Kosovo. That is what we wished for, but Serbia managed to block it with Russia’s help,” the U.S. ambassador said.

He added that he hoped the disagreement between Serbia and U.S. over the future status of Kosovo would not spoil “friendly relations between the two countries.”

At the end of his ambassadorial term, Polt gave "a four plus out of five" mark to the bilateral relations, adding that he was aware that, given the circumstances, "Belgrade would certainly give a lower grade".

The full interview will be broadcast on B92 TV this evening at 20:00 CET, while the transcript will be available on this website.