ROUNDUP: UN, Russia showdown looms over Kosovo after troika report
Deutsche Presse-Agentur - December 8, 2007 Saturday 3:30 PM EST

BELGRADE/NEW YORK - A dispute between Russia and the West in the United Nations over the future of the Serbian province Kosovo loomed after the so-called Troika report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared negotiations to have failed, reports said Saturday.

The UN Security Council was due to discuss the Kosovo issue on December 19, but the stage for a showdown was set by Belgrade - supported by Moscow - for a continuation of the negotiations, at the same time that the Western members opposed further talks.

The report given to Ban by the troika consisting of the European Union, US and Russia said that 120 days of "intensive talks" between Belgrade and Pristina had yielded no results, with the parties unable to reach an agreement on Kosovo's status.

"Neither party was willing to cede its position on the fundamental question of sovereignty over Kosovo. This is regrettable, as a negotiated settlement is in the best interests of both parties," the Troika report said.

The mediators said the two sides did find some issues they could agree on and promised to work together on reconciliation, even if they couldn't break through on the big question of Kosovo's status.

"We believe this process served a useful purpose," the Troika report said. "Under our auspices, the parties engaged in the most sustained and intense high-level direct dialogue since hostilities ended in Kosovo in 1999."

The Troika also urged both sides not to engage in any actions that may incite violence or jeopardize security in the region. The report did not specifically say whether they considered a unilateral declaration of independence to be just such an act.

In a joint letter to the other EU-member governments after the unsuccessful bid by the Troika to reach an agreement between Kosovo-Albanians and Serbs on the province's future, the possibilities for negotiations had been "exhausted," an EU diplomat confirmed Saturday in Brussels.

But in Belgrade, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica declared Saturday that further negotiations were the only means of reaching a solution on the status of Kosovo and prevent "an unpredictable and long drawn-out" crisis.

Serbia hoped to reach a political and democratic solution through talks, which could start in Kosovo and continue in Belgrade, Kostunica said.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by the Interfax agency as blasting US support for independence for Kosovo.

Washington had called for a solution without leaving any alternative open and this was the biggest obstacle to reaching an agreement, Lavrov charged.

Kosovo is inhabited predominantly by Kosovo Albanians who reject renewed negotiations. They expect nothing short of an independent Kosovo and are considering declaring independence unilaterally.

Serbia, backed by Russia, has offered substantial autonomy but within a Serbian state.

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