FROM THE MEDIA

: Regions

Europe

UN Proposes Near-Independence for Kosovo, Diplomat Says

By Aleksandra Nenadovic

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The United Nations has offered Kosovo its own military and constitution as part of an independence plan for the disputed Serbian province, a diplomat taking part in the talks in Vienna on the proposal said today.

UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari presented the proposal today to the so-called Kosovo contact group of the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Russia.

A diplomat present at the talks, who spoke on condition of not being identified, said by telephone the document does not use the word independence while still offers Kosovo something which is almost that. The province will be allowed to have a military force, a constitution and membership in international bodies.

Kosovo, an area smaller than Connecticut located in Serbia's south, has been under international protection since NATO's 1999 bombing campaign ousted the Serbian army. Ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, mostly living in separate areas from the Serb minority.

The Albanians want full independence for the province, while Serbian authorities are offering them a broad autonomy instead. Three Serb cities in the north of the province cut ties to the provisional government last year, deepening their isolation.

EU Veto

A European Union mission in Kosovo with a special representative as its head will have the right to veto laws and decisions and the authority to appoint or fire officials in Pristina, Kosovo's capital, the official said.

``The proposals of Mr. Ahtisaari go in the right direction,'' French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told reporters in Brussels today. ``Given the Serb political constellation, it is entirely necessary to take into account the status of the Serb minority in Kosovo.''

While the U.S. and the EU are expected to support some form of independence for Kosovo, Russia has said it will veto any agreement that the Serbs do not endorse.

Russia and the other members of the contact group disagreed whether the UN proposal should be debated before Serbia has a chance to form a government following Jan. 21 elections, Associated Press reported from Vienna today, citing a diplomat with knowledge of the talks. Russia wants more time to study the proposal, AP reported.

Russian View

Dimitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, declined to comment on the AP report, saying he has not seen the text of the proposal.

``It is of key importance that all decisions take into account the wishes of both Belgrade and Pristina,'' he said. ``Neither we nor Europe want any decisions to be forced on them. A new government will be elected. This is a factor that cannot be ignored.''

Ahtisaari will travel to Serbia and Kosovo on Feb. 2 to present the document to Serbs and ethnic Albanians and the UN will then initiate talks between the Serbian government and the Albanian-dominated government in Kosovo so both sides can comment, the official said.

The proposal would then be handed to the UN Security Council for translation and be placed on the agenda. It could take them until mid-2007 to start debating the paper, the official said.

`Strong Ties'

Oliver Ivanovic, head of Kosovo's Serbian List party, said today that based on his earlier meetings with Western diplomats, Kosovo Serbs ``will have an assembly and an association of municipalities. We should also have the right to establish very strong ties with Serbia.''

``We will be given broad rights in security, health services, education and cultural matters, we will have right to nominate local police chiefs, judges and prosecutors,'' Ivanovic said in a phone interview. ``There will be a major decentralization of Kosovo with about seven large predominantly Serb municipalities.''

Ivanovic said that it would be impossible for Serbs to ``accept any form of Kosovo's independence.''

NATO stands in ``full unity behind President Ahtisaari and the process he has laid out today,'' Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters after North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministers met in Brussels. ``There is a shared commitment for a resolution as quickly as possible.