UN extends Kosovo envoy's contract
Associated Press, Thursday, October 19, 2006 12:40 PM
PRISTINA, Serbia-The chief United Nations envoy on the status of Kosovo has had his contract extended until next year, officials said Thursday.
Martti Ahtisaari, the Finnish diplomat who has been struggling to bring to an agreement between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders and Serbian officials by the end of this year, will be in charge of the talks until June 2007, according to the terms of the new contract.
"Our contract has been extended to June 2007," Hua Jiang, spokeswoman for Ahtisaari's team, said. She said the measure was "purely for administrative purposes" and was not linked to the possibility of talks into the next year.
"That doesn't mean that the process itself will be prolonged," she said. "The process will still end by the end of the year." "That's the only timeframe" the team has been given, she added.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana earlier said it was likely the process could be delayed because Serbia plans in the meantime to hold a referendum on a new constitution and to have parliamentary and presidential elections.
Ahtisaari denied a change of plans, saying he is still to submit his recommendations on Kosovo's future to the U.N. Security Council before the end of 2006.
Kosovo's majority Albanians want the province to become an independent state while the minority Serbs want it to remain part of Serbia.
The province's leaders, including Prime Minister Agim Ceku, have warned a delay in resolving the issue could trigger unrest in the volatile region.
Kosovo government spokeswoman Ulpiana Lama said the extension was part of the process that will see Ahtisaari making a proposal which will then be "closely scrutinized".
"We want a speedy conclusion to the process, but not a hasty one," Lama said.
PRISTINA, Serbia-The chief United Nations envoy on the status of Kosovo has had his contract extended until next year, officials said Thursday.
Martti Ahtisaari, the Finnish diplomat who has been struggling to bring to an agreement between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders and Serbian officials by the end of this year, will be in charge of the talks until June 2007, according to the terms of the new contract.
"Our contract has been extended to June 2007," Hua Jiang, spokeswoman for Ahtisaari's team, said. She said the measure was "purely for administrative purposes" and was not linked to the possibility of talks into the next year.
"That doesn't mean that the process itself will be prolonged," she said. "The process will still end by the end of the year." "That's the only timeframe" the team has been given, she added.
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana earlier said it was likely the process could be delayed because Serbia plans in the meantime to hold a referendum on a new constitution and to have parliamentary and presidential elections.
Ahtisaari denied a change of plans, saying he is still to submit his recommendations on Kosovo's future to the U.N. Security Council before the end of 2006.
Kosovo's majority Albanians want the province to become an independent state while the minority Serbs want it to remain part of Serbia.
The province's leaders, including Prime Minister Agim Ceku, have warned a delay in resolving the issue could trigger unrest in the volatile region.
Kosovo government spokeswoman Ulpiana Lama said the extension was part of the process that will see Ahtisaari making a proposal which will then be "closely scrutinized".
"We want a speedy conclusion to the process, but not a hasty one," Lama said.
posted by Snezana @ 19:01
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