http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=09&dd=19&nav_category=92&nav_id=43874
“Kosovo issue cannot be solved overnight” 19 September 2007 | 11:40 -> *13:37* | Source: B92, Beta *NEW YORK, BELGRADE -- The UN secretary-general said on Tuesday in New York that he was committed to achieving results in the Kosovo issue. *“I am under no illusion that such problems can be solved overnight, whether it's the Middle East, or Kosovo or Afghanistan or Climate Change,” Ban Ki-moon said ahead of the beginning of the plenary meeting of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. “The solutions all involve a long road and hard work. Rest assured that, as secretary-general, I am committed to working intensely with the member states on all these issues to achieve results.” On the sidelines of the General Assembly session, foreign policy chiefs from the Contact Group countries are expected to meet on September 27, as direct talks between Belgrade and Priština over Kosovo’s future status are due to commence the following day. U.S. ambassador calls for mutually acceptable Kosovo solution On Tuesday, the newly-appointed U.S. ambassador to Serbia, Cameron Munter said the United States backed the efforts of the international Troika in seeking out a solution for Kosovo that was acceptable to both sides. Asked how Washington would react if the Kosovo Albanians asked them to support a unilateral declaration of independence without UN Security Council consent, Munter said he hoped that the situation could be avoided. “It would not be right if I speculated on what could happen when the time for talks set by the UN secretary-general expires on December 10,” he stressed. “But, I would like to add that the United States believes that supervised independence as envisioned in the Ahtisaari plan would be the best solution for the province’s future,” said Munter, adding that the plan guaranteed the highest possible level of protection for the Kosovo Serbs. “Let’s hope for a successful outcome to the Troika-mediated Kosovo negotiations. We will see what happens in the direct talks between Belgrade and Priština in New York at the end of September, and I hope the situation you have mentioned won’t arise.”
