Daily: Kosovo talks in October

The Serbian government is preparing an expert team and a detailed platform for negotiations with Pristina. The talks will open with “light-weight topics”. It is not known whether the "patron" of the talks will be the EU or the UN. Negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina will begin in late October. Daily: Kosovo talks in October The Serbian government will build an expert team next week, the role of which is to prepare a detailed platform for the upcoming talks, the daily Vecernje Novosti found out from top officials. It cannot be said for certain whether the negotiations are going to be under the auspices of the EU, the UN, or steered by both of them. Also, neither Russia nor the United States declared whether they would participate in the dialogue. The meeting President Boris Tadic had with Catherine Ashton on Thursday in New York represented a kind of prelude for the future process, but the East River has seen neither place, date nor the exact agenda of the announced dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo Albanians being agreed upon. The aim is to thoroughly prepare a new "historic meeting" in the course of the next month, using sustained diplomatic efforts between Brussels, Belgrade, Pristina and Washington. The Head of EU Diplomacy Catherine Ashton, following a series of meetings with all major players in solving the Kosovo crisis at the brims of the UN General Assembly session, is to have a key meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton next week. This meeting should clarify a role Washington is to have in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Also, in the coming days Catherine Ashton needs to agree a single approach to future dialogue with her European partners, to build a Brussels expert team and make a list of topics that will be acceptable to all sides. Diplomatic sources announced "lighter topics" to begin with, which would not fuel the tensions too much, such as defrosting the CEFTA agreement, issues of transportion, energy, transport of goods across the administrative line, regional cooperation and finding missing persons. Brussels expects to initiate a dialogue on the lower, expert level, and as time passes and climate improves, to have them finish at the “top level". Europe desires to see, after the ground has been prepared, Serbian President Boris Tadic and Kosovo Albanian Prime Minister Hashim Thaci sitting at the same negotiating table. On Friday, Catherine Ashton called for an early start of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina: "The negotiations should be focused on advancing cooperation and improving lives of people. I will be in direct contact with President Tadic and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, but Belgrade and Pristina should decide who will preside over the talks. It is possible, of course, to have different issues discussed at different levels", she said. Headquarters of the Serbian government confirmed that the final platform for the talks will be adopted by the government, upon return of the Serbian delegation from New York. "The details of the platform will not go public until it has been adopted. That is the standard way. Everything is still being discussed and prepared", confirmed Milivoje Mihajlovic, head of the government press service. Oliver Ivanovic, state secretary for Kosovo, said to the daily that the government's platform will attempt to open the first round of talks with non-controversial issues, but that each of them will have clearly defined "red lines" which Serbia does not want to see crossed.

Daily: Kosovo talks in October

The Serbian government will build an expert team next week, the role of which is to prepare a detailed platform for the upcoming talks, the daily Večernje Novosti found out from top officials.

It cannot be said for certain whether the negotiations are going to be under the auspices of the EU, the UN, or steered by both of them.

Also, neither Russia nor the United States declared whether they would participate in the dialogue.

The meeting President Boris Tadić had with Catherine Ashton on Thursday in New York represented a kind of prelude for the future process, but the East River has seen neither place, date nor the exact agenda of the announced dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo Albanians being agreed upon.

The aim is to thoroughly prepare a new "historic meeting" in the course of the next month, using sustained diplomatic efforts between Brussels, Belgrade, Priština and Washington.

The Head of EU Diplomacy Catherine Ashton, following a series of meetings with all major players in solving the Kosovo crisis at the brims of the UN General Assembly session, is to have a key meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton next week. This meeting should clarify a role Washington is to have in the dialogue between Belgrade and Priština.

Also, in the coming days Catherine Ashton needs to agree a single approach to future dialogue with her European partners, to build a Brussels expert team and make a list of topics that will be acceptable to all sides.

Diplomatic sources announced "lighter topics" to begin with, which would not fuel the tensions too much, such as defrosting the CEFTA agreement, issues of transportion, energy, transport of goods across the administrative line, regional cooperation and finding missing persons.

Brussels expects to initiate a dialogue on the lower, expert level, and as time passes and climate improves, to have them finish at the “top level". Europe desires to see, after the ground has been prepared, Serbian President Boris Tadić and Kosovo Albanian Prime Minister Hashim Thaci sitting at the same negotiating table.

On Friday, Catherine Ashton called for an early start of dialogue between Belgrade and Priština:

"The negotiations should be focused on advancing cooperation and improving lives of people. I will be in direct contact with President Tadić and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, but Belgrade and Priština should decide who will preside over the talks. It is possible, of course, to have different issues discussed at different levels", she said.

Headquarters of the Serbian government confirmed that the final platform for the talks will be adopted by the government, upon return of the Serbian delegation from New York.

"The details of the platform will not go public until it has been adopted. That is the standard way. Everything is still being discussed and prepared", confirmed Milivoje Mihajlović, head of the government press service.

Oliver Ivanović, state secretary for Kosovo, said to the daily that the government's platform will attempt to open the first round of talks with non-controversial issues, but that each of them will have clearly defined "red lines" which Serbia does not want to see crossed.