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Sixth round of talks on Kosovo wraps up without results

Belgrade/Vienna, 31 May 2006

Member of the negotiating team for talks on the future status of Kosovo-Metohija Leon Kojen said today following the sixth round of talks held in Vienna and devoted to economic issues, that the meeting was the hardest so far and that agreement was reached on few issues, adding that the only useful thing is the fact that the two sides have set out their viewpoints.

Author: FoNet

Kojen told a press conference that judging by the current state of affairs, there is almost no chance of reaching agreement on the important issues.

"We think that the reason for the lack of any progress is the artificial limitation of talks that have so far been organised in a neutral way from the viewpoint of the province's status. The talks have shown that it is impossible to make headway since a lot of issues are status-related", stressed Kojen.

He warned that it is impossible to conduct privatisation of Trepca and the Kosovo Electric Power Industry (KEK) in six months and added that the Serbian delegation was astonished to hear that Pristina intends to conclude privatisation by year's end.

Another team member and Advisor to the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Simic said that it was the duty of international mediators to better prepare this negotiating round.

"It turned out that Pristina representatives and the international community have insufficient data on loans and debts and are therefore demanding them from Belgrade. This serves to show that agreements on loans were carried out by Serbia and that Belgrade has no need to conceal the data", said Simic.

UN deputy envoy for Kosovo talks Albert Roan stressed that the most complex issue so far was debated today.

"We tried to keep the discussion at the technical level. An economic divide must take place, regardless of how Kosovo status is ultimately resolved", said Roan.

EU envoy for negotiations on Kosovo's future status Stefan Lehne, who co-presided the meeting with Roan, explained that certain issues could not have been solved since they are connected with the province's status.

Lehne said that both sides agreed that foreign debt must be divided, emphasising that Kosovo is prepared to take upon itself its portion of the debt which should be evenly distributed. The issue of the so-called non-located debts should be solved in cooperation with international organisations, he added.