Final negotiations on Kosovo

Most of the Serbs have already been purged from Albania. Serbia has already been dismembered so it will just have to suffer one more amputation. The severed limb is 90 per cent Albania already. UN supervised ethnic cleansing obviously works. I wonder what happens if Russia vetos the plan?

Serbs, Albanians open last talks on UN Kosovo plan
Reuters

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VIENNA - Serbs and Albanians began final talks today on a UN plan for Serbia’s breakaway Kosovo province, with mediator Martti Ahtisaari inviting the two fundamentally opposed sides to find something to agree on.

“We want to give the parties a chance to go through the plan,” which offers Kosovo a path to independence supervised by the European Union, Ahtisaari told reporters.

“If we can agree on something that is not there at the moment, we will seriously consider it.”

But Ahtisaari has warned against expecting the “miracle” of a compromise between the Kosovo Albanian demand for full independence and Serbia’s offer of autonomy within Serb borders, and there was no hint of conciliation from the delegates.

“We are not rejecting the entire plan. We reject only the provisions violating the territorial integrity of Serbia,” said Serbian negotiator Slobodan Samardzic.

But sovereignty is the crunch issue.

“We believe Kosovo will be independent and we will go back with that conviction,” said Veton Surroi, speaking for the Albanians who make up 90% of Kosovo’s population of 2 million.

“Belgrade has gone through the whole year talking about territory and not about people,” he added. “What we want from our people is to have patience in the last few laps of this marathon.”

Kosovo was the cause of NATO’s first “humanitarian” war in 1999 to drive out Serb forces who killed 10000 Albanians and drove out almost 1 million in a two-year conflict with rebels.

The United Nations took control, but left Kosovo’s status open. The West sees no prospect of reimposing Serb rule.

Ahtisaari says his proposal for the people of Serbia’s ancient religious heartland is a compromise between diametrically opposed demands.

Serbia insists it must retain sovereignty, while Albanian leaders have accepted the plan but want to water down provisions for a foreign overseer and self-government for the Serb minority, which have angered many Albanians.

Serbia vows to reject all elements implying the amputation of 15% of its territory, impoverished land the size of Qatar or Connecticut.

“Serbia cannot agree to its dismemberment and the loss of its sovereignty over any part of Serbian land,” Serbian presidential adviser Vuk Jeremic told Reuters on Monday.

Today’s meeting comes a year and a day since former Finnish president Ahtisaari opened direct talks between the two.

Discussions have produced little but disagreement. Ahtisaari made public his blueprint on February 2 and said he expected the UN Security Council to impose a settlement within months.

“There is no realistic alternative to the UN proposal,” his deputy, Albert Rohan, said in comments published on Monday.

“Continuation of the current situation is impossible.”

Ahtisaari hopes to wrap up talks by March 10 and send his finished plan to the Security Council later in the month.

The bargaining looks certain to continue in New York, where UN veto holder Russia has warned repeatedly it will not support an imposed solution that Serbia does not accept.

Serbia is banking on a Russian veto.