Albert Rohan: No realistic alternative to UN proposal

PanARMENIAN.Net - There is "no realistic alternative" to a UN proposal that would put Kosovo on the road to eventual independence, Serbia would lose nothing under the plan, Albert Rohan, an Austrian diplomat serving as deputy to UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari, said, according to the Kurier newspaper. In his words, the plan for Kosovo will be presented next month to the UN Security Council, which will have the final say. A final round of negotiations between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership, which is pushing for full independence, and delegates from Serbia, which insists the southern province must remain part of Serbian territory, begins Wednesday in the Austrian capital. Rohan said it is "very improbable" that the Vienna talks would produce a compromise. "A continuation of the present situation is untenable," Rohan was quoted as saying, "Without a roadmap for Kosovo's future its rival sides almost certainly will destabilize the province." Two-thirds of the 58-page draft proposal - which would give Kosovo the trappings of statehood, such as a flag, anthem, army and constitution - focus on strengthening protections for the province's 100.000-member Serb minority. "Kosovo has not been under Serbian administration since 1999, when NATO airstrikes on Belgrade ended former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's brutal crackdown on independence-minded ethnic Albanians and put the province under UN administration. We want to create conditions in which Kosovo's people can live safe and normal lives. If Kosovo's Serbs examine our suggestions without prejudice, they'll see no reason to reject them," said the Austrian diplomat.