Brussels, 26/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - The United States has placed its full support behind the plan put together by Martti Ahtisaari, who tabled proposals on Monday on the future status for Kosovo to the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon. “We give our full support, in all ways, to this plan”, which comes after a “long, fair and highly complicated process”, the American under-secretary of state in charge of political affairs, Nicholas Burns, told the press in Brussels on Monday, prior to his meeting with Javier Solana, High Representative of the EU for the CFSP. “This is the firm position of our government”, which it will maintain over the “five, six or seven weeks of intense consultations”. These consultations are opening now at the UN Security Council, where Russia has already made clear its misgivings over a solution imposed without the stamp of approval of Belgrade and Pristina, and its preference for continuing talks.
In his plan, the United Nations envoy to Kosovo talks of “supervised independence” and protection for the rights of the Serb minority, Mr Burns confirmed, adding that “after a year of effort and a year of discussions, it is time that the Kosovars get what is due to them”. We will plead for this, in the hope that a Security Council resolution can be adopted in “April or May”, he added, indicating that the Russian deputy minister for foreign affairs, Konstantin Titov, was to visit Washington next Monday to discuss the issue. In the long term, “independence is the only viable option for a politically stable and economically viable Kosovo”, Mr Ahtisaari states in his report, which proposes at this stage that the “independence of Kosovo and the obligations resulting from my proposed regulation be carried out initially under supervision and with the support of a civil and military international presence”.
The Europeans also voiced very broad support for Mr Ahtisaari's plan. Most acknowledged the breakdown of negotiations and the need to resolve the issue of the status without further delay. Greece, however, raised the possibility of granting more time to reach a negotiated solution between the Serbs and the Kosovars. Last week, Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement, called for European unity, warning against the “risks of instability and chaos” throughout the Balkans (EUROPE 9392). (ab)