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UN:
BAN KI-MOON URGES TIMELY RESOLUTION OF KOSOVO'S FUTURE STATUS: 03/10/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 03 October 2007 -
Any delay in determining the future status of
Kosovo could threaten the gains made by the United Nations in the Serbian
province it has administered since Western forces drove out Yugoslav forces amid
inter-ethnic fighting in 1999, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
The UN
peacekeeping mission in the province, known as UNMIK, has mostly achieved what
it can, and “further progress depends on a timely resolution of the future
status of Kosovo,” Mr. Ban wrote in his latest report on the Mission.
He
warned that a “further prolongation of the future-status process puts at risk
the achievements of the United Nations in Kosovo since June of 1999.”
The
Secretary-General pledged the UN’s support for discussions between the two
sides led by the Troika, comprising the European Union, Russia and the United
States.
“No
effort should be spared to reach an acceptable solution to the question of the
status of Kosovo in accordance with the guiding principles” of the Contact
Group of the US, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Russia, he said.
During
the 120-day period of Troika-led engagement, “the parties need to engage in
construction and genuine discussions,” Mr. Ban noted. “The sides should be
encouraged to make concrete and realistic proposals and be given ample
opportunities to do so.”
However,
due to the substantial gap between the parties regarding the future status of
Kosovo – where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities by about
nine to one – consideration must be given to what to do if the sides cannot
come to an agreement by the end of the engagement period, he said.
“Momentum
in the process to resolve the status of Kosovo must be maintained until closure
is reached,” the Secretary-General stated. “Otherwise, there is a real risk
of progress beginning to unravel and of instability in Kosovo and the region.”
He also
called for Kosovo Serbs to fully take part in the upcoming election scheduled
for 17 November.
“The
status determination process continues to polarize the Kosovo Serb political
community into those who see a future in working with the international
community and the Provisional Institutions and those who do not,” he said.
Although
the participation of Kosovo Serbs in both the political process and in the
Provisional Institutions is “minimal,” Mr. Ban said he was encouraged by the
emergence of several new Kosovo Serb parties that support joining in the
elections.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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