Serbian officials deny responsibility for failure of Kosovo status talks
The Serbian Ministry for Kosovo expressed on Thursday its disapproval over the last statement by EWolfgang Ischinger, the EU representative in the mediating troika for Kosovo, which claims that that several proposals had been put forward during the talks on the province's final status, but that the Serbian side would not accept them
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, November 30, 2007
The Ministry stated Ischinger's statement was inconsistent with the facts. "Of all the proposals presented by the troika to our state negotiating team during the negotiations, only the «14-point working paper» was presented as a joint document by all three troika members. The other proposals came from individual members and can in no way be presented as joint proposals by the troika," the press release said.
The Ministry also warned against the possible consequences of such statements prior to the drafting and submission of the troika's report. It voiced hope that the troika's report would objectively present Belgrade's and Pristina's conduct and contribution at the talks, and that it will exert a positive influence on the forthcoming debate within the UN Security Council on further attempts to resolve the future status of Kosovo.
The Belgrade negotiating team has come forward with several concrete plans for the future status of Kosovo in the last phase of the talks, including elements from existing «automony plans» successfully applied in Hong Kong, South Tyrol or the Aland Islands.
It accused the Pristina team on blocking the talks by refusing to consider any option other than independence, an option Serbia considers unfounded and illegal with respect to international law.
