HEILIGENDAMM, Germany: Group of Eight summit host Germany said yesterday the world’s major powers had failed to find a common position on the future status of Kosovo.“While there continue to be different views on substance and on the way forward, we will remain engaged on the issue,” Germany said in a document outlining the main points of the three days of talks here.
The talks at the summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, focused on UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s proposal to grant Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority “internationally supervised independence” from Serbia.The plan is backed by Kosovo Albanian leaders, the United States and the European Union, but adamantly opposed by Serbia and its ally Russia, which has threatened to block it before the UN Security Council.
On Thursday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had proposed a six-month pause for reflection on Kosovo’s future status.
But Sarkozy revealed earlier yesterday that the world’s wealthiest nations — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States — could not agree on his proposal.“The sherpas (diplomats) and the political directors have worked for several hours overnight on Kosovo.
For the time being, the necessary progress has not been made,” Sarkozy said.
In Germany’s closing press conference, summit host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, acknowledged that talks on Kosovo had not been “easy”.“But we must work intensively on it,” she said.
And she insisted that the atmosphere in Heiligendamm on the Kosovo question had been “constructive” despite the divergent view.
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