Plan cuts Kosovo from Serbia (Reuters) By Matt Robinson
BELGRADE, Jan 25 (Reuters) - A U.N. plan for Kosovo will remove the majority Albanian province from Serbian sovereignty and set it on the road to independence, but provide Serbs living there with significant autonomy, diplomatic and U.N. sources say. U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari will discuss the package on Friday in Vienna with the six-power Contact Group setting policy on Kosovo since NATO wrested control of the province in 1999. The diplomatic and U.N. sources have told Reuters the blueprint gives Kosovo the right to enter into international agreements and apply for membership of international organisations and institutions, potentially including the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It talks of the right to "dual-citizenship" and urges Pristina to establish good relations with Serbia and other neighbouring states. Unlike U.N. resolution 1244 governing Kosovo since the pullout of Serb forces, it contains no reference to Serbian sovereignty. Kosovo will take on its share of economic assets, and debts, that once belonged to the former Yugoslavia and Serbia. Germany described the eventual outcome as "independence with limits on its sovereignty". The limitations will be guided by the European Union and an overseer will be appointed. The plan, fruit of more than a year of shuttle diplomacy and direct Serb-Albanian talks, needs a new U.N. resolution to take effect. It will remain under wraps until Ahtisaari hands it over in Belgrade and Pristina on Feb. 2. Serbia will almost certainly dismiss it outright. But the West sees no chance of forcing 2 million Albanians back into the arms of Belgrade, after years of repression and a counter-insurgency war in 1998-99 that killed 10,000 and drove 800,000 into camps in Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro. NATO bombs drove out Serb forces and the U.N. took control. 01/25/2007 07:57:32 UN draft plan for Kosovo ready (Afp) VIENNA, Jan 25, 2007 (AFP) - UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari is Friday to unveil a plan for Kosovo that will focus on protecting the Serb minority's rights in the contested province where ethnic Albanians seek independance. But his presentation in a closed-door meeting in Vienna to the six-nation Contact Group of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United States is only a first step in moving towards a solution. Ahtisaari will on February 2 present the proposal to the Serbian and Kosovo sides, who will then discuss it further, Ahtisaari's spokeswoman Hua Jiang told AFP. "The special envoy will engage both parties for further negotiations and discussions after presentation of the proposal," Hua said. She refused to disclose details. "We do not want to pre-empt the period of further consultations" before a final plan goes to the United Nations, Hua said. Ahtisaari had Wednesday told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that his plan would focus on "the protection of minority rights, in particular of the Kosovo Serbs" and "a strong international civilian and military presence within a broader future international engagement in Kosovo." Ahtisaari said his plan "provides the foundations for a democratic and multi-ethnic Kosovo in which the rights and interests of all members of its communities are firmly guaranteed and protected by institutions based on the rule of law." He said it would be "very important that Pristina fully and formally commits itself to implementating all elements of an eventual settlement." The Wall Street Journal said in a editorial that Kosovo was unlikely to be granted as much autonomy as it wants, with the emphasis now being on protecting the Serb minority in the mainly ethnic Albanian province. Kosovo has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when a NATO bombing campaign ended a crackdown there by Serbia on separatist ethnic Albanian rebels. The European Union wants to hold talks with Serbia to prevent any opposition from Belgrade's traditional ally Russia, which has threatened to veto any UN Security Council resolution that would impose independence. "Russia believes it is unacceptable that a decision on the status of Kosovo be imposed from the outside," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday, adding a solution should be acceptable to both Belgrade and Pristina. Diplomatic sources in Vienna said an additional round of bilateral talks, as suggested by the United States, is probable as Western powers want to avoid a status that will appear to have been imposed by the Security Council. Ahtisaari had been due to present his proposals in December but put off his announcement until elections in Serbia on January 21. The ultra-nationalists claimed victory in Sunday's elections although the divided pro-European democrats won a majority of votes. Ahtisaari has held technical discussions between Serbia and Kosovo, which have included decentralisation, cultural, religious and economic issues, since February 2006 in Vienna but without results. Hua said Friday's talks in Vienna would be held at a secret location and that no statements would be issued to the press. But she said "summaries and fact sheets" would be released on February 2 "once the proposal is presented to both parties." The Kosovo issue will also be discussed during a meeting of NATO ministers Friday in Brussels. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
