Serbs and Albanians clash over future of Kosovo
The largely symbolic launch of the UN-sponsored talks was intended to avoid the contentious issue of Kosovo’s future: independence, as demanded by the ethnic Albanians, or status as part of Serbia, as called for by the Belgrade leadership.
But Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian president, Ibrahim Rugova, insisted on Kosovo’s independence. “Kosovo” wants to become a part of the EU and NATO, Rugova told the gathering. “This means a democratic, peaceful and independent Kosovo,” he said.
In a strongly-worded speech, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Nebojsa Covic made it clear the republic did not recognise Kosovo as anything more than “one of its parts”.
“There can be no dialogue if it is not clear to everyone we are not talking as representatives of two states,” he said. Serbia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zivkovic said after the three-hour meeting in Vienna there was no direct dialogue and “the only positive result was that we sat at the same table”.
International mediators had stressed the final status of Kosovo has yet to be determined by the UN Security Council. The talks were intended to pave the way for negotiations on everyday issues burdening impoverished and war-ravaged Kosovo: energy supplies; transportation; missing persons and the return of refugees.
The talks were the first time the former foes met since the war ended in June 1999, when a 78-day NATO bombing campaign halted former President Slobodan Milosevic’s crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.
The war left up to 10,000 dead and hundreds of thousands expelled. Most were ethnic Albanians. Kosovo has since been administered by the UN.
