ITALY SAYS 'NO HURRY' ON KOSOVA DECISION

ITALY SAYS 'NO HURRY' ON KOSOVA DECISION

Italy's foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, on June 14 said that time is not a crucial factor in deciding the future of Kosova, international media reported.

D'Alema told journalists in Rome that the international community has "not abandoned" hope of a solution based on international law and sanctioned by the United Nations. "We're not worried by the fact that this might need some time," he said. "We are not in a particular hurry. It is something that should be done, above all, well.

And if 'soon' and 'well' don't go together, 'well' should win out over 'soon.'" U.S. President George W. Bush on June 10 called for a decision "now" on Kosova's future, while French President Nicholas Sarkozy is proposing six more months of bilateral talks between Belgrade and Prishtina (see "RFE/RL Newsline," June 11, 2007). Like Bush and Sarkozy, D'Alema said the notion that Serbia might enjoy sovereignty over Kosova is "unthinkable." Kosova has been under UN administration since NATO troops intervened in 1999 to halt fighting between Serbian forces and Kosovar Albanian separatists.