Recurent round of Kosovo talks held in London

PanARMENIAN.Net - Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders were joining talks Wednesday on the future of the disputed province with envoys from the United States, European Union and Russia.



Kosovo's President Fatmir Sejdiu has said he will seek an explanation from the Contact Group troika over comments made by the European Union's representative, which appeared to indicate independence for the province is not on offer.



"I would leave open independence. I would rather talk about a strong supervised status," German negotiator Wolfgang Ischinger told The Independent newspaper on Tuesday.



The process of granting independence to Kosovo can take a long time, according to him.



The troika, as the group of envoys is known, opened talks on Tuesday and is due to report on progress to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon by Dec. 10.



Serbia and Russia strongly oppose Kosovo's claims for full independence.



After meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic called on all parties to tread carefully.



The Serbian and ethnic Albania representatives are to meet face-to-face for the first time in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Sept. 28.



Russia's foreign minister warned the West Tuesday against rushing a decision on Kosovo's independence, saying that there must be no artificial deadlines for the province's Albanians and the Serbs to reach a solution.



Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed that the Kosovo issue remains a "red line" for Moscow and he rejected the Dec. 10 deadline, the Associated Press reports.



Kosovo remains formally part of Serbia, but the province has been run by the United Nations and NATO since 1999, when NATO bombed Serbia to stop a military campaign against ethnic Albanian separatists.



Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, insist on independence. But Serbia, backed by Russia, refuses to let go of its historical heartland.



Kosovo talks have been held for 15 months already. In February UN Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari developed a plan providing for Kosovo's independence under international control. Basing on Ahtisaari's plan, the U.S., France UK prepared a draft resolution submitted to the UN Security Council. However, Russia blocked the draft rating it as inadmissible.