NEW YORK, United States -- US and EU diplomats continued to work in New York on a new draft Security Council resolution. According to unofficial reports Wednesday (July 11th), the new document allows for another 120 days of talks between Belgrade and Pristina and meets Russia's concerns by dropping a provision that would have automatically granted independence to Kosovo if negotiations fail. It also authorizes replacing UNMIK and the UN police force with an EU mission.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the sponsors of the resolution had reached an agreement on the text and are now holding discussions with Russia. It will be presented officially within two or three days depending on the outcome of those talks, he said. The Tanjug news agency reported on Thursday that representatives of the Contact Group for Kosovo -- minus Russia -- met in New York Wednesday evening to discuss the draft.
Belgrade and Pristina have both reacted with frustration. In a strongly worded statement, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica dismissed what he said was another attempt to move towards Kosovo independence. Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, meanwhile, called on the EU to bypass the UN if the latter proves unable to resolve the status issue. Brussels, he said, should adopt a deadline for the UN Security Council to make a decision. If no decision is reached, Kosovo would declare independence on its own, Ceku said. (Tanjug, ITAR-TASS, RTT News, Bloomberg, BBC, Reuters, AFP, AP, RTS, RTK, RFE, Telegrafi, Kosovapress, Kosovalive, Tanjug, B92, Telma TV, albanian times, albanian daily news, se times)
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