Serb president cautiously ‘optimistic’ about Kosovo

Serb president cautiously ‘optimistic’ about Kosovo Belgrade offering ‘greatest possible autonomy’ rather than independence

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_world_2815899_26/07/2006_72500

BUCHAREST (AFP) - Serbian President Boris Tadic said yesterday that he was optimistic a compromise on the final status of Kosovo could still be found after talks in Vienna failed to produce a breakthrough.
“The talks on the issue of Kosovo are very difficult, but I must remain optimistic,” Tadic said at a press conference with Romanian counterpart Traian Basescu.
“Serbia is opposed to Kosovo’s independence but is offering the greatest possible autonomy” to the UN-administered province, the Serbian president said.
Belgrade would be ready to “take part each time in negotiations on Kosovo, while respecting the rights of Serbians and European values.“
No date has been set for further high-level talks between Belgrade and Kosovo Albanians but technical meetings on issues such as decentralization are planned for August, Tadic added.
Following the talks in Vienna, UN Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari had said the two parties were “as far apart as possible: Belgrade would accept everything but independence, while Kosovo Albanians will accept nothing but independence.”
After a meeting with Tadic, Basescu said that Romania stands by the rule that the borders of a sovereign state cannot be changed.”
The Romanian head of state, who will travel today to the United States, said the meeting had been “very useful,” especially ahead of talks with the Americans.
Basescu said he was “against any imposed solution” on Kosovo, adding that what was needed was to avoid “creating a precedent that could violate the norms of international law... A potential solution that would not result from negotiations between the two parties could only be imposed with troops present... and would create instability in the entire region.”
Basescu warned however that Serbia should “hand over to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) General Ratko Mladic,” who is charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Former Bosnian-Serb military leader Mladic “is holding an entire people hostage and blocking Serbia’s progress towards the European Union” by refusing to surrender, he said, adding the general should turn himself in “if he really loves his people.” In May, the European Union suspended talks on forging closer ties with Serbia, punishing Belgrade for failing to cooperate fully with UN prosecutors hunting Mladic and other war crimes fugitives.