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Belgrade
Satisfied with Second Round of Decentralization Talks in Vienna
The second round of talks between the Serb and Albanian
delegations on decentralization of Kosovo in Vienna has not produced any final agreement, but the
Belgrade negotiating team is satisfied with the
Vienna talks.
"The conclusion of Albert Rohan, who presided over the meeting, is in
accordance with our hopes. There are still many things to talk about. We have
taken a step forward and there can be no going back. For example, as regards to
the need of the Serb municipalities to have ties with Belgrade," assessed the
Serbian PM Advisor Slobodan Samardzic. He added that the talks had been
satisfactory and that the result could be very favourable for Belgrade. In an interview
with Vecernje Novosti Leon Kojen, the member of Belgrade negotiating team and the Political Advisor to the
Serbian President said that, except for the issue of establishing new
municipalities in Kosovo, the discussion on decentralization, which included
broader powers of the Serb municipalities, their horizontal ties and direct ties
with Belgrade,
has been rounded up. According to
him, in case that an agreement is reached it remains to be seen when it will be
implemented: "We urged that it should be implemented right away, and I think
we shall have the support of the international community on this, whereas the
Albanians will urge that it be implemented as late as possible. They have
already mentioned 2008 and 2009, and even that it will be implemented one day
after the Kosovo status is defined. We will also insist that the reached
decentralization concept is included in the future Kosovo constitution,"
said Kojen. The member of the Belgrade
negotiating team Goran Bogdanovic told Vecernje Novosti
that the Serbian side must continue to insist on substantial decentralization of
power in Kosovo and ties between Serb municipalities and Belgrade. He voiced
satisfaction with the understanding that Albert Rohan had expressed toward the
Belgrade
delegation. The Deputy of the UN S-G Special Envoy for future status process in
Kosovo Albert Rohan told the press following the second round of
Vienna talks
that financing of Kosovo municipalities must be transparent. According to him,
the municipalities can cooperate in areas within their jurisdiction, adding that
no one among the participants had challenged the legitimacy of ties between the
Serb municipalities with Belgrade in certain areas, like education and
healthcare. Rohan has announced that the international negotiators would try to
identify solutions that could be acceptable to both sides and send this document
to Belgrade and
Pristina. He has announced that the next meeting has been scheduled for 3 April.
Albanian negotiators opposed direct financial ties between Belgrade and Serbian
municipalities. RTS reported from Vienna that Pristina delegation insisted that Belgrade could assist the future municipalities, but only
if this assistance would be directed through the Kosovo Government, while ties
between Serb municipalities and Belgrade, according to Pristina, could only be
of informal kind.
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