The seventh round of talks on the future status of Kosovo ended
in Vienna Wednesday with ethnic Albanian and Serbian officials
failing to reach any consensus.
Although the two delegations narrowed their differences, they
failed to clinch a deal, said Bernhard Schlageck, a UN-appointed
mediator at the talks.
Main topics in this round included the autonomy of the ethnic
Albanian regions, and the establishment of special protection zones
around the Serb heritage sites and the Serbian communities.
According to the report of Austria Press Agency, the two sides
planned to hold UN-sponsored top-level political talks on July 24,
which would be the first of its kind on the future status of Kosovo
between the former warring sides.
In the meantime, Serbian President Boris Tadic announced
Wednesday that he would meet with ethnic Albanian leaders of Kosovo
province.
"It will bring troubles to the stability in Balkan and other
regions if Kosovo becomes an independent state," Tadic said in
Brussels on Tuesday after meeting with European Commission chief
Jose Manuel Barroso.
The UN-mediated negotiations on the future status of Kosovo
started last November. But thorny problems have not been addressed
after seven rounds of talks.
(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2006)
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