Post by meltdown711 on Nov 6, 2007 21:44:52 GMT -5
Link:
www.mfa.gov.yu/Policy/CI/KIM/301007_3_e.html
US STATE DEPARTMENT DENIES NEW PLAN FOR KOSOVO, UN CAUTIOUS
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Tanjug) - The US State Department on Monday vehemently denied claims that the US Administration was making a new plan for Kosovo-Metohija, which would freeze the status of Serbia's southern province for the next 12 years in exchange for considerable financial support to the Kosovo economy. Such stories are completely unfounded, State Department Curtis Cooper told Tanjug. Not wishing to elaborate on this topic, Cooper said that Washington remained committed to clearly voiced stands that internationally supervised independence of Kosovo, based on the Martti Ahtisaari plan, was the best solution for getting out of the crisis. The Balkan Investigation Reporting Network (BIRN) reported, quoting State Department sources that the United States was "drafting a proposal that would freeze Kosovo's status for 12 years" while the province would receive seven billion dollars of assistance per year in the meantime. However, Western diplomats, including those from the US, who talked with Tanjug's correspondent at UN Headquarters in New York did not resolutely deny the alleged US plans, but said that many solutions on the basis of which the two sides' stands could get closer were at play.
One of the ideas is the freezing of the problem for some time, since the two sides apparently will not be able to make a compromise within the set deadline. The postponement idea may pave the way for solving the problem with much less tension at a later date, a Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity told Tanjug.
www.mfa.gov.yu/Policy/CI/KIM/301007_3_e.html
US STATE DEPARTMENT DENIES NEW PLAN FOR KOSOVO, UN CAUTIOUS
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Tanjug) - The US State Department on Monday vehemently denied claims that the US Administration was making a new plan for Kosovo-Metohija, which would freeze the status of Serbia's southern province for the next 12 years in exchange for considerable financial support to the Kosovo economy. Such stories are completely unfounded, State Department Curtis Cooper told Tanjug. Not wishing to elaborate on this topic, Cooper said that Washington remained committed to clearly voiced stands that internationally supervised independence of Kosovo, based on the Martti Ahtisaari plan, was the best solution for getting out of the crisis. The Balkan Investigation Reporting Network (BIRN) reported, quoting State Department sources that the United States was "drafting a proposal that would freeze Kosovo's status for 12 years" while the province would receive seven billion dollars of assistance per year in the meantime. However, Western diplomats, including those from the US, who talked with Tanjug's correspondent at UN Headquarters in New York did not resolutely deny the alleged US plans, but said that many solutions on the basis of which the two sides' stands could get closer were at play.
One of the ideas is the freezing of the problem for some time, since the two sides apparently will not be able to make a compromise within the set deadline. The postponement idea may pave the way for solving the problem with much less tension at a later date, a Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity told Tanjug.