The envoys of the Contact Group on Kosovo from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia held a meeting in Vienna Wednesday evening to discuss a negotiation framework for the future status of Kosovo.
It's the first meeting for the Contact Group since the United States and European countries decided not to refer their draft for the future status of Kosovo to the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) for voting on July 20.
The European diplomats said that in a two-hour closed-door meeting, all parties involved agreed to seek a political solution for the future status of Kosovo, as a troika of the European Union (EU), the United States and Russia.
However, some important issues, as to which member country of the EU should attend the troika, if the UN's special envoy to Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari should attend the future negotiation and whether Ahtisaari's proposal on the future status of Kosovo can still be the basis of further negotiation, were still open.
Ahtisaari's Deputy Albert Rohan told media before the meeting of the Contact Group that considering the regional stability and international security, the issues on the future status of Kosovo must be solved, but only in the framework of the Security Council.
Ahtisaari referred to a comprehensive proposal on the future status of Kosovo granting internationally monitored independence to the province in March, which was the basis for the drafts of resolution by the United States and other Western countries, but was repeatedly criticized by Serbia and Russia as being partial toward the Kosovo side.
Due to the opposition of Russia, the United States and other Western countries decided not to refer their draft for the future status of Kosovo to the Security Council on July 20, and chose to impel for negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo with time limitations.
(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2007)
