Kosovo Talks Stall

Meeting in Brussels under the auspices of the EU-US-Russia troika, Serbian and Kosovo delegations were unable to make progress on finding a solution for the future status of the Serbian breakaway province. According to a statement issued by European, US and Russian mediators, negotiators for Kosovo rejected a Serb offer of broad autonomy and insisted that nothing short of an EU-supervised independence would be acceptable.

"Yet again, I cannot report any progress due to the intransigence of the Serbian delegation," said Skender Hyseni, spokesman for the Kosovo delegation.

Hyseni rejected Serbia's latest proposal which would turn Kosovo into an autonomous province modeled on Aland, a Swedish-speaking archipelago belonging to Finland, saying there was "nothing new" to it. He also said Kosovo had endured a long period of "harsh occupation" and that it had become a "de facto independent" state awaiting recognition from the international community.

Serbia's delegation, led by President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, rejected Kosovo's demands for independence and accused their counterparts of wasting time ahead of a Dec. 10 deadline set by the United Nations for an agreement to be reached.

"Serbia is always looking for compromises. If someone is wasting time, it's not Serbia," Kostunica said.

Final chance for compromise?

Kosovo's prime minister-in-waiting, Hashim Thaci, said he was willing to consult with the United States and the European Union before proclaiming his province's independence from Serbia.

"We will take a decision on Kosovo after Dec. 10, together with the US and EU," Thaci said.

Serbian President Tadic dismissed imposed solutions as unhelpful and said unilateral announcements of independence by Kosovo would stand in the way of an agreement.

A last-ditch attempt to find a compromise is slated to take place in Austria on Nov. 26-28, the troika said in its statement.

The predominantly ethnic-Albanian province of two million people is aspiring to become independent and to eventually join the EU and NATO. But the EU, which is split over whether to recognize the new country, has urged its leaders not to be too hasty in declaring independence.

Russia, which is backing Serbia on the issue, has already threatened to veto a deal granting Kosovo independence, which was put forward by UN mediator Martti Ahtisaari.