| |
|
|
| Solana, Ischinger ready for Kosovo round |
| 19 November 2007 | 09:28
| Source:
Beta, Tanjug |
BRUSSELS, MOSCOW --
Javier Solana and Wolfgang Ischinger met Sunday in Brussels to prepare for the next round of Kosovo status talks.
The EU foreign policy chief and the Union's representative to the Contact Group Troika held detailed discussions on the current negotiations, with the aim of "preparing" a debate among EU foreign ministers on Kosovo and a new round of negotiations between Belgrade and Priština in Brussels.
Solana's spokeswoman Christina Gallach told Beta news agency that "the stance of the European Union is that the negotiations on the status of Kosovo must go forward, even though the European twenty-seven are conscious of the difficulties and the fact that hitherto there has been very little progress."
"But now that the elections in Kosovo have been held, we need to enter the final phase of the process, which must lead to the establishment of Kosovo's status," Gallach said.
She explained that Solana and Ischinger had discussed the report that the EU representative in the Troika is to submit to European ministers on November 19.
The topic of Solana's and Ischinger's conversation "was closely linked" with working out the details of what will be placed on the negotiating table on November 20 when the Belgrade and Priština delegations meet, with the mediation of the Troika.
Solana and Ischinger "exchanged views" on what has been achieved up till now in the troika's mediating efforts, with the goal of doing everything it can in order to begin the much more creative, substantial final phase by December 10, when the Contact Group's troika is due to submit its report to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
"For now, no one wants to get into whether the troika will put on the table any more concrete proposals, and this is precisely what Ischinger, on the eve of the new round of negotiations, will discuss with both the American and Russian representatives in the troika, and so none of that can be made public ahead of time," she said.
Gallach announced that Monday evening in Brussels a meeting will take place between President Boris Tadi' and Solana.
On Tuesday, after the negotiations between Belgrade and Priština, Solana is also to meet with Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica.
Sunday, Russia's representative to the Troika Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko said that, as the Kosovo talks continue, he would champion Belgrade's proposal on the preservation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and added that the neutral status idea, which came from his EU colleague Ischinger, "was not the proposal of the Troika."
"The Contact Group mediating Troika still does not have a comprehensive proposal for the future status of Kosovo-Metohija," Botsan-Kharchenko told Tanjug in an interview ahead of a new round of negotiations.
He believes it is uncertain whether the envoys will succeed in making a comprehensive proposal by December 10.
"We are working on a proposal in view of the ideas presented by the sides, but today I cannot say that there is a prepared comprehensive proposal, and it is difficult to say whether any will be ready. Nobody knows this at the moment and this depends on the result of new negotiations," he said.
"For reasons of professional ethics" Botsan-Kharchenko refused to comment on Ischinger's announcement that an agreement on neutral status would be offered to the sides and reiterated that he still did not see any prepared ideas.
"I hope that the sides will say something in Brussels, we will also have meetings in Vienna towards the end of November. This might be a longer meeting in the course of several days, like an extended meeting, if there are issues to discuss further," he said and added that this gathering would also be held within the Troika, and not in the form of an international conference.
Announcing that the Troika will meet twice ahead of the Tuesday meeting with the sides, Botsan-Kharchenko said everything that had already been discussed would be reviewed once again.
"Brussels is the decisive phase for the continuation of negotiations and there are things to talk about, in view of the fact that the Belgrade presented the Hong Kong idea," the Russian diplomat said, and added that he had understood the Serbian proposal "not as a proposal for mechanical implementation, but as an example of how this model can work," and that this proposal "should be taken into consideration."
Asked if Moscow has agreed with the 14 items, including those that Belgrade will not rule in Kosovo and that it will not restore its physical presence in the province," he said that "none of the items was a position."
Botsan-Kharchenko also said that the 14 items "remained on the table as a topic for discussion."
|
 |
| Politics - Most relevant news |
Monday, 19 November
2007 |
|
Delta owner accuses LDP leader of role in kidnapping
20:45 |
Source:B92, Beta
Priština tones down threat of immediate independence
18:03 |
Source:AP
Kosovo Serb leader: Boycott was catastrophe
13:01 -> 15:56 |
Source:B92, FoNet, Beta
Novi Pazar mayor slams Democrats
16:11 |
Source:B92, Tanjug
EU advises Thaci against unilateral moves
10:08 -> 13:37 |
Source:AFP, Tanjug
Jeremić heads for United Kingdom
10:18 |
Source:Tanjug
Int'l media on Kosovo elections: Albanians disappointed
12:10 -> 13:44 |
Source:B92, Beta, Tanjug
Thaci wins, likely to team up with LDK
09:26 |
Source:B92, Beta
Ilić announces presidential bid
10:13 |
Source:B92, Tanjug
Report: NATO, UN plan to seize control of Kosovo's north
14:08 |
Source:B92, BIRN
All news for 19. November 2007
|
|
|
|
|
Archive: Monday, 19 November 2007 |
|
|
|
|
| Archive |
|
| More... |
|
|
search b92.net
B92 live 
"The situation in Europe is dire. After years of profligate spending, Greece is becoming overwhelmed. Barring some sort of large-scale bailout program..."... 
What we need in Belgrade, really, is a suspension bridge. We need a bridge that will suspend our doubts about ever having enough viable bridges. We need a bridge that will suspend our disbelief about the dangers
...
