"Kosovo talks to continue after December 10"

If Belgrade and Pristina fail to reach a compromise, the Troika will offer several solutions, an analyst says. This whole process could last beyond December 10, says the Director of the Balkan Fund for Democracy Ivan Vejvoda. "Kosovo talks to continue after December 10" "By then, they [the Troika] only have to have submitted their report, not offered a status solution," said Vejvoda in an interview published the latest edition of weekly Nedeljni Telegraf. According to him, after December 10 come the Christmas holidays, then changes within the Security Council and an election campaign in Russia, which will take up most of their time, "so it is clear that a solution will have to be found within the Troika." "Still, there is no doubt that the U.S. and the EU will come to an agreement," added Vejvoda. The former foreign policy adviser to the late Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic thinks that the EU currently has the most important role in finding a solution for Kosovo, which is natural, he says, given that "the U.S. is far away, and several borders divide us from Russia." He stressed that the EU had to prevent any unilateral declaration of independence as threatened by Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, since that could destabilize the country and the region. Reflecting on the rumors that the EU was considering the idea of forming a confederation of Serbia and Kosovo, Vejvoda reiterated the mediating Troika’s position that any solution Belgrade and Pristina could agree on was possible. "If the Kosovo Albanians want to be independent, and Serbia wants to retain sovereignty over the province, maybe a confederation is the answer." He added that one option was a partition which has been touted in various forms since the seventies, and which, in his opinion, could be possible according to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, provided the two sides agree to it. "The two sides have a chance to say what they want. In public, they oppose the idea of a confederation or partition, but I believe that those options will remain open until the last moment," said Vejvoda.

"Kosovo talks to continue after December 10"

"By then, they [the Troika] only have to have submitted their report, not offered a status solution," said Vejvoda in an interview published the latest edition of weekly Nedeljni Telegraf.

According to him, after December 10 come the Christmas holidays, then changes within the Security Council and an election campaign in Russia, which will take up most of their time, "so it is clear that a solution will have to be found within the Troika."

"Still, there is no doubt that the U.S. and the EU will come to an agreement," added Vejvoda.

The former foreign policy adviser to the late Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić thinks that the EU currently has the most important role in finding a solution for Kosovo, which is natural, he says, given that "the U.S. is far away, and several borders divide us from Russia."

He stressed that the EU had to prevent any unilateral declaration of independence as threatened by Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, since that could destabilize the country and the region.

Reflecting on the rumors that the EU was considering the idea of forming a confederation of Serbia and Kosovo, Vejvoda reiterated the mediating Troika’s position that any solution Belgrade and Priština could agree on was possible.

"If the Kosovo Albanians want to be independent, and Serbia wants to retain sovereignty over the province, maybe a confederation is the answer."

He added that one option was a partition which has been touted in various forms since the seventies, and which, in his opinion, could be possible according to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, provided the two sides agree to it.

"The two sides have a chance to say what they want. In public, they oppose the idea of a confederation or partition, but I believe that those options will remain open until the last moment," said Vejvoda.