Ischinger hopes for cooperation deal

The EU envoy to Kosovo talks Wednesday played down prospects of a broad agreement on the status of the province. Reuters reports that Wolfgang Ischinger said the Troika of mediators from the EU, United States and Russia had hoped to get deals resolving both Kosovo's status as well as future ties between the province and Serbia. Ischinger hopes for cooperation deal But this was "probably not going to be achieved", he told reporters in Berlin. His comments, among the most pessimistic yet from the German diplomat leading the talks, came a day after Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders failed to break their long-running deadlock over the province's future. "Our aim in the Troika, even if we didn't get a solution on Kosovo's status, was to get agreement on the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo, independent of how and when the status question was resolved," Ischinger said. "The Troika process on Kosovo was not and is not window-dressing," Ischinger said. "No one will be able to say after the fact that we didn't explore all possibilities." The Troika began work to break the Kosovo deadlock in August, after a Western-backed resolution for independence was blocked at the United Nations by Russia. Pristina’s Kosovo position “regrettable” Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko says that it is regrettable that Pristina is not interested in anything but independence. The Russian representative to the international mediating Troika said that the Kosovo status negotiations would continue and that no-one should give up on them. “Their position is always the same, Kosovo independence, and what we had before the elections still remains. It is regrettable that the Kosovo side is firmly demanding independence and is not interested in discussing any other options,” he said. Not wishing to comment on the possibility of a unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence bypassing the United Nations Security Council, Kharchenko said that certain western countries’ intentions to find a formula for making the proclamation viable were pointless, as no legally acceptable formula existed. “The Serbs presented their proposals for Kosovo autonomy in great detail, drawing parallels with Chinese Hong Kong. The Serbian delegation tried to give concrete examples that the model for widespread autonomy was effective and functional. Unfortunately, the Kosovo Albanians are refusing to discuss it further,” Kharchenko said. He said that the Kosovo Albanians were not willing to discuss anything outside the independence plan proposed by UN Kosovo Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, and that they were only interested in discussing cooperation agreements with Serbia. The Russian diplomat said that the Troika had not given any official proposals and that the sides had all agreed to continue searching for missing persons from the 1999 Kosovo conflict. Germany and Italy for united EU stance on Kosovo German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi want to adopt a coordinated solution for Kosovo and the EU to come to a consensus on the matter. “We want to do everything we can to reach a coordinated and harmonized European stance,” Merkel said after a meeting with Prodi. According to the German government website, Merkel stressed that the future solution needed to be “as harmonious as possible between Serbia and Kosovo.” Germany and Italy want the negotiation process to continue as constructively as possible until the end and to avoid conflicts, according to internet news hub Netzeitung. The site quoted Prodi as saying that “Serbia must clearly state that it has a future within the EU.” Germany warned the Kosovo Albanians on Monday against a unilateral proclamation of independence. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that “there would be many losers after such a move” and that “a negotiated solution would be better for both sides.”

Ischinger hopes for cooperation deal

But this was "probably not going to be achieved", he told reporters in Berlin.

His comments, among the most pessimistic yet from the German diplomat leading the talks, came a day after Serbian and Kosovo Albanian leaders failed to break their long-running deadlock over the province's future.

"Our aim in the Troika, even if we didn't get a solution on Kosovo's status, was to get agreement on the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo, independent of how and when the status question was resolved," Ischinger said.

"The Troika process on Kosovo was not and is not window-dressing," Ischinger said. "No one will be able to say after the fact that we didn't explore all possibilities."

The Troika began work to break the Kosovo deadlock in August, after a Western-backed resolution for independence was blocked at the United Nations by Russia.

Priština’s Kosovo position “regrettable”

Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko says that it is regrettable that Priština is not interested in anything but independence.

The Russian representative to the international mediating Troika said that the Kosovo status negotiations would continue and that no-one should give up on them.

“Their position is always the same, Kosovo independence, and what we had before the elections still remains. It is regrettable that the Kosovo side is firmly demanding independence and is not interested in discussing any other options,” he said.

Not wishing to comment on the possibility of a unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence bypassing the United Nations Security Council, Kharchenko said that certain western countries’ intentions to find a formula for making the proclamation viable were pointless, as no legally acceptable formula existed.

“The Serbs presented their proposals for Kosovo autonomy in great detail, drawing parallels with Chinese Hong Kong. The Serbian delegation tried to give concrete examples that the model for widespread autonomy was effective and functional. Unfortunately, the Kosovo Albanians are refusing to discuss it further,” Kharchenko said.

He said that the Kosovo Albanians were not willing to discuss anything outside the independence plan proposed by UN Kosovo Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, and that they were only interested in discussing cooperation agreements with Serbia.

The Russian diplomat said that the Troika had not given any official proposals and that the sides had all agreed to continue searching for missing persons from the 1999 Kosovo conflict.

Germany and Italy for united EU stance on Kosovo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi want to adopt a coordinated solution for Kosovo and the EU to come to a consensus on the matter.

“We want to do everything we can to reach a coordinated and harmonized European stance,” Merkel said after a meeting with Prodi.

According to the German government website, Merkel stressed that the future solution needed to be “as harmonious as possible between Serbia and Kosovo.”

Germany and Italy want the negotiation process to continue as constructively as possible until the end and to avoid conflicts, according to internet news hub Netzeitung.

The site quoted Prodi as saying that “Serbia must clearly state that it has a future within the EU.”

Germany warned the Kosovo Albanians on Monday against a unilateral proclamation of independence.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that “there would be many losers after such a move” and that “a negotiated solution would be better for both sides.”