Zannier: "UNMIK still has important role"
Zannier told that the UNMIK was the most politicized of all UN peacekeeping missions and that its major goal was to introduce reconciliation and stability in the field.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, November 12, 2010
UNMIK still plays an important role in Kosovo in spite of its reconfiguration and reduction, UNMIK Chief Lamberto Zannier has stated in Washington.
The UNMIK chief, who held a lecture at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, qualified the current situation in Kosovo as a "frozen conflict" but added that it was positive that a political process has been launched bringing the two parties to the negotiating table.
"I believe that it is high time the two parties were brought to the negotiating table and got engaged in direct talks, moreover, it is very good that the European Union is also present in the process," he said.
"I don't expect a result which would make the dialogue difficult, that would surprise me very much. It seems to me that Kosovo authorities are clearly realizing importance of engaging in that direction and that vision is shared by the countries that are providing the maximum support to Kosovo," Zannier explained.
According to him, situation in the north represents the biggest challenge for temporary self-government institutions in Pristina, whose integration strategy is based on investments and new projects, but also on police actions which enforce the law which causes conflicts with the Serbian side.
