New Kosova Report

Troika to submit report today

Saturday, 08 December 2007

NEW YORK, BRUSSELS -- The international mediating Troika will submit their report on the Kosovo status talks to Ban Ki-Moon today. In an interview with Associated Press, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said that he expected the report to state that the four-month negotiations between Belgrade and Priština had failed to reach an agreement on the province’s future status.

“The report will more than likely state that no agreement was reached,” Ban said.

U.S. envoy to the Troika, Frank Wisner, told Associated Press today that the conclusion was “obvious,” and that it was clear that the talks had not been successful.

The report is expected to indicate that Belgrade and Priština had completely opposing stances on the issue during the talks. Serbia offered high-level autonomy while maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity, while the Kosovo Albanians demanded nothing short of independence.

According to AP, the U.S. and several other European nations are planning to implement the plan presented earlier in the year by UN Kosovo envoy Martti Ahtisaari for “supervised independence”, thus bypassing the Security Council, and the likely Russia veto.

Wisner confirmed that implementation of the Ahtisaari plan should begin. However, there is still not complete agreement on recognizing Kosovo independence within the EU.

According to AP, Slovakia, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Romania fear that a unilateral proclamation of Kosovo independence by the province’s Albanian majority would set a dangerous precedent and encourage other separatist movements around the globe.