U.N. envoy says more work needed before talks on Kosovo's future

Associated Press, Aug 22, 2005 10:22 AM

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro-A U.N. envoy said Monday that more work is needed to improve tense relations between Kosovo's Serbs and ethnic Albanians before talks can begin on the contested province's future status.

Kai Eide, a Norwegian diplomat, met Monday with officials in Belgrade who also expressed concern over the situation in Kosovo. Eide was appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in June to review Kosovo's progress in meeting U.N.-set targets on democracy and civil rights for the province's minority Serbs.

"More needs to be done in Kosovo, not only on better ethnic relations, but also about the rule of law in Kosovo," Eide said after his talks with Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic.

But Eide did not rule out delivering a "more positive" report to Annan by next month, which could pave the way for U.N.-mediated negotiations on Kosovo's future status.

The province's majority ethnic Albanians want full independence, but the Serb minority and Belgrade insist that Kosovo remain part of Serbia-Montenegro, the union that replaced Yugoslavia.

Draskovic said after meeting Eide that Kosovo "is not even close to the start of talks on its future status." He described conditions for Serbs in Kosovo as "dramatically difficult."

Kosovo has been under U.N. and NATO administration since a 78-day NATO-led air war that halted a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in 1999.

But tensions in Kosovo remain high six years after the end of the conflict. About 100,000 minority Serbs mostly live in isolated enclaves, guarded by NATO troops and fearing attacks from ethnic Albanians extremists.

Belgrade officials insist the position of Serbs in Kosovo must improve before talks on the province's future can start. Belgrade also demands that some 200,000 Serbs who fled the province in the wake of the war be allowed to return to the region.

This is Eide's third visit to the region since his appointment. Before coming to Belgrade, he met ethnic Albanian and Serb officials in Kosovo.