AP News, February 21st, 2007
Serbian and ethnic Albanian negotiators remain deadlocked on the heart of a U.N. plan that would put the restive Serbian province of Kosovo on the road to eventual independence, a U.N. special envoy said Wednesday.
Martti Ahtisaari, who drafted the proposal on the future status of Kosovo, said a final round of talks in Vienna between the rival sides had begun in a conciliatory mood, but he cautioned that both remained far apart on their positions.
"The parties have not moved closer together _ we are still facing the same realities," Ahtisaari said.
Serbia wants Kosovo to remain part of its territory, but the province's ethnic Albanian majority demands independence. Kosovo has been a U.N. protectorate since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended a brutal Serbian crackdown on separatists. About 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers still patrol the province.
Veton Surroi, an ethnic Albanian leader leading Kosovo's delegation, said earlier that his team would not seek any major changes to Ahtisaari's plan.
"For us, this chapter has ended and this book has been closed," Surroi said.
He said the ethnic Albanian side "will in no way change the structure" of the plan, and was determined to "preserve its spine and the shape given to it by Mr. Ahtisaari."
But chief Serb negotiator Slobodan Samardzic _ underscoring Serbia's fierce claims to Kosovo as the heart of its historic homeland _ said his delegation would present "completely alternative proposals" to the draft.
Ahtisaari's plan "completely disregards Serbia's sovereignty and integrity as well as national and international law," Samardzic said.
The proposal, which would give Kosovo internationally supervised self-rule and the trappings of statehood including a flag, anthem, army and constitution, must be approved by the U.N. Security Council.
On the eve of the talks, Ahtisaari called the negotiations "one more opportunity for both parties to make their points," and he said both sides were responsible for Kosovo's future security and prosperity.
"My proposal can only provide the framework," the former Finnish president, who has successfully brokered peace agreements in Asia and Africa, told the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. "Successful implementation will require time and cannot happen without the cooperation of all of Kosovo's communities."
On Tuesday, a group claiming to be the Kosovo Liberation Army _ the now-disbanded guerrilla force that battled Serb forces for independence in 1998-99 _ claimed responsibility for a bomb attack that damaged three U.N. vehicles on Monday.
The statement said the bombing was in retaliation for the deaths of two ethnic Albanian protesters killed earlier this month while demonstrating against the U.N. roadmap. Many ethnic Albanians insist the plan grants the province's minority Serbs too many concessions while not going far enough toward establishing Kosovo as a fully independent state.
Police said they were investigating the statement, the authenticity of which could not be independently verified.
The latest violence has inflamed tensions and raised concerns that Kosovo could see more unrest.
The United States believes Ahtisaari's plan is "fair and balanced and recognizes the need for both sides to reach out towards the other," said Kyle Scott, deputy chief of the U.S. mission to the OSCE, Europe's largest security organization.
"We should not play God and solve the problems of the parties for them," Scott said in a statement. "Nor should we ignore our responsibility to prevent the region from descending into new conflict."
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On the Net:
U.N. special envoy for Kosovo: http://www.unosek.org
