Belgrade-Pristina meeting to take place next week

ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL (ITALY), Jul-19-06 16:42

Belgrade, 19 July (AKI) - Serbian president Boris Tadic said Wednesday that a meeting between senior officials from Belgrade and Pristina will take place next week. Tadic, who made the announcement after meeting NATO officials, including Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, in Brussels said that he was told by the UN's Kosovo status envoy Martti Ahtisaari that all of the technical problems with scheduling the meeting had been resolved.

The meeting between the Serbian and Kosovar officials would take place on 24 July in Vienna, Tadic said.

On that day, Ahtisaari would hold a news conference at 5 pm local time when the meeting is expected to be over, Tadic said.

At a joint press conference with Tadic, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that he received reassurances from the Serbian President that Belgrade will participate constructively in the Kosovo discussions.

Tadic said that a large part of his discussions with NATO officials was dedicated to the protection of Serbs in Kosovo.

"I received reassurances that our community in Kosovo will be protected. And that was my main demand", Tadic said, adding that he informed NATO officials of the difficult situation in which Kosovo Serbs find themselves in.