Eide not satisfied with Kosovo progress

B92, Belgrade, August 18, 2005 21:05

PRISTINA -- Thursday - The UN secretary-general's special envoy for the implementation of standards in Kosovo said today that he is disappointed with the discussions he has had in Pristina.

Kai Eide, speaking in Pristina, said that he wanted to see the Kosovo institutions more seriously committed to meeting the standards imposed by the international community as a precondition for the beginning of status talks.

In his third visit to the province, which began at the weekend, Eide has so far met President Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo Assembly Speaker Nedzat Daci and the leader o the opposition Democratic Party of Kosovo, Hashim Taci.

The UN envoy told journalists after these separate meetings that he had not been alone in the criticism he levelled at the authorities in Pristina and Belgrade three weeks ago, but that Contact Group representatives and EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana had had the same response.

Eide described Kosovo as being in a key phase in which everyone must take their share of the responsibility. "I want to see progress on the key issues. That relates to everyone. No one is excluded, neither the Government nor the opposition. And I will follow everything closely and include changes, if there are any, in my report."

Rugova said today that he hopes Eide's report will be positive because this would mean the beginning of negotiations on the future and independence of Kosovo. "I am insisting on direct acceptance of the independence of Kosovo from the US and the EU, which would bring peace to this part of Europe and the world," he said.

This visit is Eide's third to Kosovo since being appointed and he is expected to report to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN Security Council at the end of September.