Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said on Monday that
Belgrade would soon present a specific proposal on Kosovo's final
status in line with European standards, but he suggested that his
government would reject outright autonomy for the UN-run
province.
In talks with US envoy Frank Wiesner, Kostunica said the
solution for Kosovo would be a compromise and that "all forms of
extreme solutions have to be left behind."
Kostunica stressed that Serbia would not accept the imposition
of a solution on a democratic country, nor would it accept the
seizure of part of its internationally recognized territory, as it
would constitute a dangerous precedent.
Wiesner arrived in Belgrade on Monday after visiting Kosovo. The
US envoy on Friday urged a final solution to be produced by the end
of this year. The US-brokered talks on Kosovo's future status
started in February, with the fourth-round expected to resume on
May 4 in Vienna.
Kosovo remains legally part of Serbia, although it has been run
by the United Nations since NATO bombing forced out Serbian forces
in 1999.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, who constitute 90 percent of its 2
million population, want outright independence. However, Serbian
leaders insist on maintaining at least nominal sovereignty over
Kosovo, and want the province's minority Serbs to have more
autonomy.
Former Serbian administration officials were being prosecuted
for suspected war crimes at The Hague's International Tribunal.
Defendants have included former Yugoslav president Slobodan
Milosevic, who died in his cell on March 11 during his trial.
(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2006)
