Ahtisaari: No more negotiations on Kosovo status

EU sending 1,000 crisis management experts to region

Martti Ahtisaari

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United Nations envoy, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari says that no more negotiations are to be held between Kosovo and Serbia on the future status of Kosovo.
      Speaking on Tuesday at a seminar of the Crisis Management Initiative organisation, Ahtisaari said that there can be some discussions on technical matters, but no more actual negotiations.
      On Friday Ahtisaari said that he would postpone issuing a proposal on the future international position of Kosovo until next year. The likely reason for this is that Serbia announced on Friday that it would hold early elections on January 21st. A Kosovo decision that is not to the liking of Serbia might have boosted the popularity of hard-line nationalists in the election.
      On Tuesday, Ahtisaari promised to make the decision public "without delay".
     
Under Serbia’s new constitution, Kosovo is declared to be an "inseparable" part of Serbia. Agim Ceku, Prime Minister of the predominantly Albanian Kosovo, said that Kosovo would unilaterally declare itself independent if the UN does not grant it independence.
      Ahtisaari is expected to propose a kind of "pre-independence" status for Kosovo, in which it would enjoy benefits, such as representation in international organisations without formal independence. On Tuesday he said that the negotiations had been "painfully slow". According to Ahtisaari, Kosovo has nevertheless been readier to make concessions than Serbia has.
      Experts said on Tuesday that finding a solution to the crisis is being made more difficult by the fact that Russia is taking a more negative view of the possible split between Kosovo and Serbia than it did last autumn, when Ahtisaari was given his mandate. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia has the power to veto any Kosovo plan.
     
The European Union is taking on part of Kosovo’s civilian administration from the UN, which has handled it since 1999.
      Next year, the EU is sending about 800 police officers and 100-150 legal experts to Kosovo, as well as experts in logistics and financing, says Bruno Hanses of the European Council. The annual costs of the operation are expected to be more than EUR 140 million.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Ahtisaari postpones Kosovo settlement proposal until 2007 (13.11.2006)
  Ahtisaari and the fourth chair (1.10.2006)
  Mediator Martti Ahtisaari´s efforts receive full support from West in Kosovo talks (22.9.2006)
  Former President Ahtisaari rejects Serb criticism of Kosovo talks (13.4.2006)

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