Troika to pursue seeking “various options” for Kosovo
The Contact Group Troika will pursue the negotiations process on the future status of Kosovo by exploring “various options” with the parties, based on the 14 working points which it had presented last month.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The 14 points, along with comments by the parties, will constitute the basis in order to see whether there are any further options in the search for a negotiated solution, EU envoy Wolfgang Ischinger told the press after the fourth round of direct talks between Serbian and Kosovo Albanian delegations.
The next round has been scheduled for November 20 in Brussels.
The mediators will continue to work within the parameters of the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and Contact Group principles, Ischinger said.
The Troika is working for a negotiated solution and is helping the parties to consider the options and find a negotiated solution -- its aim is not to impose a settlement, he emphasized.
Ischinger did not wish to disclose any further details on the Monday sessions and said that the process from now on would be confidential.
US representative Frank Wisner refused to comment the proposals presented at the session for reasons of confidentiality, adding that making details public would reduce flexibility in the talks.
Wisner said he had the impression that the Kosovo Albanian delegation is committed to negotiations up to December 10 and had no reason to doubt that the Pristina team will be active in future sessions.
Russia's representative Alexander Botsan Harchenko told the press that Belgrade endeavored to prove its proposal is functional, and expressed satisfaction that a "number of interesting ideas" were presented.
This shows that progress has been made in the discussion, he said, adding, however that he could not say that these ideas could bridge the differences.
A chance still exists for a compromise solution, but this chance is "very slim", he noted.
