Tadić: Ball in Priština's court

President Boris Tadic says that the Belgrade delegation has come to Baden in search of "a mutually acceptable solution." Tadic pointed out that "the ball is in the Kosovo Albanians’ court.“ Tadic: Ball in Pristina's court "We have come here with the best intentions to negotiate with the Pristina delegation in the hope of reaching a mutually acceptable solution that will lead to peace and stability," the president told reporters upon arrival at the Hotel Schloss Weikersdorf in Baden, near Vienna, where a three-day final round of Troika-mediated negotiations on Kosovo’s future has begun. "Since the beginning of the negotiating process, we have offered many solutions that are in line with our parliamentary resolution, and the ball is now in their court," he said. Tadic underlined that the state delegation was now expecting a response from Kosovo Albanian representatives. The president said that the state team would work constructively and defend Serbia’s legitimate rights until the very end of the negotiating process. "We are against independence and our sovereignty over Kosovo being undermined," he added, asked whether independence could be acceptable for Belgrade. According to Serbian Kosovo Minister Slobodan Samardzic, the end of the talks will either herald the solution of the crisis in a civilized and peaceful manner, or the beginning of a new chapter of violence. Samardzic told news agencies that the Serbian team would continue to outline its perspectives on Kosovo’s future status, on essential autonomy, and that it would present certain arguments and experiences characteristic to Europe, as well as European solutions for the position of minorities in internationally recognized states. On their arrival in Baden, the Pristina delegation repeated their main goal of independence. Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said that a declaration of Kosovo independence was a necessary step and the only acceptable solution, that would, in his opinion, be beneficial for the development of the region as a whole, Serbia included. “I hope that we’ll take advantage of this final opportunity for negotiations with our Serb colleagues to see how we can best cooperate, to look to the future together. Belgrade’s proposals thus far have had nothing to do with the future, but with the past, and that’s why they have been irrelevant for us,“ said Ceku. The final round of talks gets under way at 3 p.m. with head-to-head talks, though it is not clear what time they will end. Negotiations will continue at 9.30 a.m. tomorrow, again with direct talks, before the Troika has separate talks with the two sides in the afternoon. The talks are expected to culminate on Wednesday morning, when the two delegations are to meet for the last time directly. The official agenda shows that the delegations are due to review the talks so far, make further proposals and present their visions of Kosovo’s future as part of closing presentations. Other than this, towards the end of the talks, the Troika will present Belgrade and Pristina with their conclusions, that will act as the basis of their report due for submission to the UN secretary general on December 10. The Belgrade team comes into the final round with the attitude that this is not the end of negotiations, and that they should continue in an attempt to ultimately come to a negotiated solution. Meanwhile, Pristina, it seems, can barely wait for the end and reach its goal of independence. On this basis, it appears that Belgrade would somehow like to prolong the process, while Pristina, even via a unilateral declaration of independence that they have been mentioning with increasing frequency, desires independence. President Boris Tadic talks to reporters in Baden (Beta)

Tadić: Ball in Priština's court

"We have come here with the best intentions to negotiate with the Priština delegation in the hope of reaching a mutually acceptable solution that will lead to peace and stability," the president told reporters upon arrival at the Hotel Schloss Weikersdorf in Baden, near Vienna, where a three-day final round of Troika-mediated negotiations on Kosovo’s future has begun.

"Since the beginning of the negotiating process, we have offered many solutions that are in line with our parliamentary resolution, and the ball is now in their court," he said.

Tadić underlined that the state delegation was now expecting a response from Kosovo Albanian representatives.

The president said that the state team would work constructively and defend Serbia’s legitimate rights until the very end of the negotiating process.

"We are against independence and our sovereignty over Kosovo being undermined," he added, asked whether independence could be acceptable for Belgrade.

According to Serbian Kosovo Minister Slobodan Samardžić, the end of the talks will either herald the solution of the crisis in a civilized and peaceful manner, or the beginning of a new chapter of violence.

Samardžić told news agencies that the Serbian team would continue to outline its perspectives on Kosovo’s future status, on essential autonomy, and that it would present certain arguments and experiences characteristic to Europe, as well as European solutions for the position of minorities in internationally recognized states.

On their arrival in Baden, the Priština delegation repeated their main goal of independence. Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said that a declaration of Kosovo independence was a necessary step and the only acceptable solution, that would, in his opinion, be beneficial for the development of the region as a whole, Serbia included.

“I hope that we’ll take advantage of this final opportunity for negotiations with our Serb colleagues to see how we can best cooperate, to look to the future together. Belgrade’s proposals thus far have had nothing to do with the future, but with the past, and that’s why they have been irrelevant for us,“ said Ceku.

The final round of talks gets under way at 3 p.m. with head-to-head talks, though it is not clear what time they will end. Negotiations will continue at 9.30 a.m. tomorrow, again with direct talks, before the Troika has separate talks with the two sides in the afternoon. The talks are expected to culminate on Wednesday morning, when the two delegations are to meet for the last time directly.

The official agenda shows that the delegations are due to review the talks so far, make further proposals and present their visions of Kosovo’s future as part of closing presentations. Other than this, towards the end of the talks, the Troika will present Belgrade and Priština with their conclusions, that will act as the basis of their report due for submission to the UN secretary general on December 10.

The Belgrade team comes into the final round with the attitude that this is not the end of negotiations, and that they should continue in an attempt to ultimately come to a negotiated solution. Meanwhile, Priština, it seems, can barely wait for the end and reach its goal of independence.

On this basis, it appears that Belgrade would somehow like to prolong the process, while Priština, even via a unilateral declaration of independence that they have been mentioning with increasing frequency, desires independence.