Ahtisaari: Talks can’t extend indefinitely

Ahtisaari: Talks can’t extend indefinitely

“If the parties can come up with ideas that both can support, I am prepared to entertain them,” Ahtisaari told reporters at a joint news briefing with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

But the UN envoy warned Belgrade and Priština not to table “totally opposing ideas” and said the new and final round of talks - expected to last until March 10 – “cannot be an eternal process.”

“I will have to draw the conclusions at some stage and say this is it,” said Ahtisaari.

Ahtisaari insisted that the talks in Vienna, to be held in three rounds, would be the last before the plan for Kososo is presented to the United Nations Security Council.

The first round of discussions is set to be held from February 21 to 23, the second from February 27 to March 2 and the last one on March 10.

The UN envoy said he wanted to “thoroughly” study the plan with the two sides and provide clarifications.

NATO chief Scheffer said the 26-nation alliance was strongly behind Ahtisaari's proposals and also backed his timetable for future action.

Scheffer insisted that the 16,000 strong NATO-led KFOR force in Kosovo would not tolerate any form of violence in the territory.

“There can never be a solution in Kosovo on the basis of violence,” said Scheffer, adding: “There can never be a partition scenario”.