AUSTRIA: Serbs and Albanians began final talks in Vienna over Kosovo

United Nations envoy says Serbia and the Albanians of breakaway Kosovo province are unlikely to agree on the future. Kosovo Albanian negotiator says the talks are "like Groundhog day" after Serbia said they wanted the neogotiations to go back to where they started a year ago. Serbia and the Albanians of its breakaway Kosovo province are unlikely to agree on the future of the territory, United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari said on Wednesday (February 21) as the two sides began a final series of talks. "On the status issue my position hasn't changed. Nothing has indicated that on the status issue the parties will be moving in a different direction," he said during a break in the proceedings in Vienna. Serbia, backed by Russia, strongly opposes independence for Kosovo, which has been the key demand of its 90 percent Albanian majority since before NATO and the United Nations took control of the province from Serb forces in June 1999. "Serbia wants talks on Kosovo to go back to where they started a year ago. It's like Groundhog Day. You wake up and find exactly the same proposals from Belgrade," Albanian Kosovo negotiator Veton Surroi told reporters during the break. Surroi said the Serbs were trying to open "a totally new concept" of negotiation instead of discussing Ahtisaari's plan applicable only in an independent Kosovo. Ahtisaari has proposed that Kosovo be granted a path to independence, supervised by the European Union. The former Finnish president says it would take "a miracle" to persuade Serbia to agree to that, or convince the Albanians to settle for the Serb offer of "substantial autonomy". He also warned of fears that security in Kosovo could deteriorate if a decision is delayed. "No one should make any threats and we are not working on the basis of threats, but of course, if there is an eternal delay in these matters than the security situation becomes a problem, there is not a question about that." Kosovo was the cause of NATO's first "humanitarian" war in 1999 to remove Serb forces who killed 10,000 Albanians and drove out almost 1 million in a two-year conflict with rebels. The United Nations took control, but left Kosovo's status open. The West sees no prospect of reimposing Serb rule. Serbia says it would be illegal to sever 15 percent of its territory and remove its ancient religious heartland, an impoverished territory the size of Qatar or Connecticut.

ITN Source | February 21, 2007

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