Serbia wants to freeze Kosovo talks for 20 years

EUObserver: Serbian president Boris Tadic told the UN security council in New York on Tuesday (14 February) that final status talks on Kosovo should be put on the shelf for 20 years, but EU and US diplomats rejected the idea, Balkans news agency DTT-NET.COM reports.

The move comes days ahead of Kosovo-Serbia negotiations on the future status of the UN-administered province in Vienna on 20 February.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn plan to visit Kosovo on Friday as part of a regional tour underlining EU commitment to Western Balkan stability.

Mr Tadic said Kosovo should accept semi-autonomy within Serbia and Montenegro for now and launch final settlement discussions two decades down the line.

US, UK and French UN envoys reiterated the position of the UN's so-called Contact Group however, saying Kosovo's status should be resolved this year in a way acceptable to the Kosovan people.

The Contact Group includes Germany, Russia and Italy, as well.

Kosovan prime minister Bajram Kosumi also urged the UN to avoid further delays in the talks.

Meanwhile, the head of the UN's Kosovo mission, Soren Jessen Petersen, urged Kosovan Albanian leaders to reach out to the Serb ethnic minority in the region.

"The next months offer an opportunity for Kosovo's leaders to redouble their efforts, to reach out to Kosovo's Serbs and to the other minorities, and to register solid and substantive progress," he said.