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Diplomats press for Kosovo deal | Diplomats press for Kosovo deal |
(about 6 hours later) | |
A top diplomat trying to settle the future status of Kosovo says the Serbs and ethnic Albanians may be facing their last chance to reach a deal. | A top diplomat trying to settle the future status of Kosovo says the Serbs and ethnic Albanians may be facing their last chance to reach a deal. |
The German ambassador in London, Wolfgang Ischinger, said they would be to blame if the talks ended in failure. | The German ambassador in London, Wolfgang Ischinger, said they would be to blame if the talks ended in failure. |
EU, Russian and US experts are meeting in London to discuss Kosovo. | |
"We... are offering Belgrade and Pristina another opportunity - maybe the last opportunity - to work out a negotiated solution," he told the BBC. | "We... are offering Belgrade and Pristina another opportunity - maybe the last opportunity - to work out a negotiated solution," he told the BBC. |
"If there is success of this effort, it will be their success, if there is failure of this process, it will be their failure," he said on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. | "If there is success of this effort, it will be their success, if there is failure of this process, it will be their failure," he said on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. |
On Friday, Mr Ischinger will travel to the Balkans with his US and Russian counterparts for talks with Serbian leaders and the interim administration in Kosovo, where the ethnic Albanian majority wants independence. | On Friday, Mr Ischinger will travel to the Balkans with his US and Russian counterparts for talks with Serbian leaders and the interim administration in Kosovo, where the ethnic Albanian majority wants independence. |
Diplomacy has shifted to the Contact Group - made up of envoys from Russia, the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy - since Russia opposed a UN plan to give Kosovo "supervised independence". | Diplomacy has shifted to the Contact Group - made up of envoys from Russia, the US, UK, France, Germany and Italy - since Russia opposed a UN plan to give Kosovo "supervised independence". |
Serbia - traditionally an ally of Russia - rejects the independence plan. | Serbia - traditionally an ally of Russia - rejects the independence plan. |
Kosovo, legally still part of Serbia, has been governed by the UN since 1999. Serb forces pulled out after Nato air raids, launched to halt a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians, some of whom had taken up arms. | Kosovo, legally still part of Serbia, has been governed by the UN since 1999. Serb forces pulled out after Nato air raids, launched to halt a Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanians, some of whom had taken up arms. |
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