Eide recommends the beginning of talks on Kosovo status

Slovakian Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan affirmed that Kai Eide, UN Special Envoy to Kosovo, has recommended that negotiations begin on the province’s final status.

“I recently talked with Eide in New York and he told me, and I agree with him because I know him well, that the report will be objective and critical. The conclusion of the report, however, does suggest that Kosovo status talks should begin.” Kukan told.

Eide, the UN secretary general’s special envoy for the evaluation of the implementation of standards in Kosovo, has submitted his report on the current situation in the province to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. It will soon be presented to the UN Security Council for discussion.

Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic reiterated his stance that the solution for Kosovo must be a European one, in accordance with the UN Charter, without altering the borders of Serbia-Montenegro, and with full protection for the Serbs and other non-Albanians of the region, B92 reports.

Vice President of Serbian National Council of Central Kosovo, Rada Trajkovic, in her turn, stated to Tanjug that any kind of independence of Kosovo means a mass exodus of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija.

In the meanwhile Russia supports the formula “more than autonomy, less than independence” proposed by Belgrade for talks on the status of Kosovo.