RUPEL: ISSUE OF KOSOVO COULD BE SETTLED IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2008

After a four-month delay on a independence plan for Kosovo in an effort to get Russia's approval.
Slovenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitrij Rupel said that Kosovo Independence could be settled in the first half of 2008, when Slovenia has the Presidency of the EU Council.

Rupel said: considering a resolution that would include a further "time-limited" period of dialogue, but with independence the only outcome.
A deal will probably depend on talks between President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin at their meeting in Kennebunkport, Maine, on July 2, some envoys said.
A senior U.S. official in Washington said that Russia's reaction still had to be tested, including its previous hints at exercising its veto power in the council.