BELGRADE/VIENNA, Sept. 16, 2005 (BETA) - Belgrade and Pristina delegations, led by local administration ministers Zoran Loncar and Lutfi Haziri, are holding talks on decentralization in Kosovo in Vienna today.

Representatives from Belgrade and Pristina at the meeting in
Austrian Foreign Ministry in Vienna today

Reform of the local administration in the province will be the sole discussion topic, adviser to the Serbian president and member of the Belgrade delegation Slobodan Samardzic said before the meeting.

Alongside him and Minister Loncar, the Belgrade delegation also includes another adviser to the Serbian president, Leon Kojen, Coordinating Center for Kosovo Vice President Milorad Todorovic, representatives of the Serb Ticket for Kosovo and Metohija Goran Bogdanovic and Randjel Nojkic, and head of the Association of Serb Municipalities and Settlements in Kosovo Marko Jaksic.

"I expect that we will exchange opinions and, if we manage to move from status quo, continue a dialog that will bear fruit and yield an all-encompassing compromise solution for Kosovo and Metohija," Samardzic said.

Vienna, 16 Sep (RTS) – Serbian Minister for State and Local Self-Government Zoran Loncar stated after the meeting with political representatives of Kosovo Albanians in Vienna that the meeting was held in a constructive atmosphere and both parties have stated their seeing of the process.”

We proposed to work on mutual document, in which will include all elements mentioned in a recent letter to UNMIK chief sent by members of Serbian List for Kosovo. That letter is completely based on the Serbian Government Plan for resolving the political situation in Kosovo and Metohija, written last year and unanimously passed by the Assembly”, stated Loncar to Tanjug.

In his statement from Vienna, he said this initial talk allowed an informal exchange of positions of both parties. Both sides expressed their readiness to continue talks in the near future, noted Loncar, after the meeting closed.

Special envoy of UN Secretary General for standards estimation in Kosovo Kai Eide stated after the meeting that both sides expressed resolve to continue the dialogue on decentralization in Kosovo.  Norwegian diplomat expressed his satisfaction from ‘positive atmosphere’ during meeting in the building of Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Serbs' rights in Kosovo brutally trampled upon says Draskovic

THE UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16, 2005 (BETA) - At the U.N. summit, on Sept. 15, Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic declared that there was "no people in Europe today whose rights are so brutally trampled upon" as the rights of the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija.

From the U.N. summit in New York

"The United Europe to which we belong is our goal and our future. Unfortunately, in one part of Serbia, in Kosovo and Metohija, political extremism, often hand in glove with terrorism, demanding, in the form of an ultimatum, the creation of another Albanian state, is a serious obstacle to stability in the entire Balkans," said Draskovic.

"We demand that the Serbs, Montenegrins and other non-Albanians in Kosovo enjoy the rights guaranteed to them by the United Nations Charter and to have the United Nations respect, in accordance with its Charter and international law, the principle that borders of states can neither be changed by force nor renamed. The respect of these principles will open the doors to an agreement on the future human and European status of Kosovo," Draskovic stated.

Pristina, Sep 15 (Beta) - The talks on decentralization, to be held in Vienna between representatives of the governments of Kosovo and Serbia, cannot have any influence on pilot projects, said Kosovo Premier Bajram Kosumi. He added that the Kosovo government was willing to modify decentralization plan B through discussion with citizens and the political representatives of the Kosovo Serbs.

When we say we will leave the door open, we bear in mind the fact that plan B was hailed by Serb leaders, which inspires us with the good will to bring the Serbs and their leaders even closer to this process, Kosumi said after a regular meeting with UNMIK chief Sřren Jessen Petersen.

"Some modifications can be made and we are willing to talk. There will be no exclusion of Albanian towns. I want to state clearly that it is not our goal to form monoethnic municipalities. Serbs may have the majority and a president in them, but the municipalities will not be monoethnic and there won't be 90 percent of Serbs and ten percent of Albanians," Kosumi said.

Kosumi made this statement commenting on a letter from the Serb Ticket for Kosovo and Metohija sent to him, the chief of UNMIK and Local Government Minister Lutfi Haziri, asking that Albanian towns be excluded from the pilot municipalities of Partes and Gracanica.

Belgrade, 16 Sep (BETA) - Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, chairwoman of the Coordinating Center for Kosovo and Metohija, stated on Sept. 15 that Belgrade and the Serb community were always open to talks on Kosovo, on condition that the topics are responsibly and seriously delineated.

"Conditional independence is not the same as the principle of the immutability of borders and cannot be thus interpreted, which, unfortunately, UNMIK chief Sřren Jessen-Petersen has been attempting to do over the last few days," Raskovic-Ivic said in a press release.

"Serbs can be neither mollified nor defeated by painstakingly being granted rights which already belong to them," the chairwoman of the Coordinating Center stated, adding that states cannot be manipulated from the position of temporary authority.

New York, 16 Sep (B92) - Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Draskovic has called for an end to extremism in Kosovo.

Speaking at the UN summit this week, he said that political extremism in parts of Serbia, usually in tandem with terrorism, remains a serious obstacle for the stability of the entire Balkan region.

‘We are asking for Serbs, Montenegrins and all other non-Albanians in Kosovo to be able to enjoy the rights which are guaranteed to them by the UN charter and for the UN, in accordance with its charter and existing international laws, to respect the borders already established and realize that they cannot be changed or altered through the use of force. Respecting these principles opens the door to an agreement for the future human and European status of Kosovo.” Draskovic said.

The foreign minister added that Serbia-Montenegro fully supports the concept of a new collective agreement to prevent the production, trade and use of weapons of mass destruction, formed by the Commission for the Established of Peace, the Human Rights Council.

“Secretary General Kofi Annan is asking for changes in the UN, faster reforms and to have declarations become actions with good reason. Complications with expanding the Security Council must not stop or halt changes which must and can be made immediately.” Draskovic said.

While the UN summit was expected to focus on reforms and poverty issues, the main focus has been the fight against terrorism.

THE UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16, 2005 (BETA) - At the U.N. summit, on Sept. 15, Serbia-Montenegro Foreign Minister Vuk Draskovic declared that there was "no people in Europe today whose rights are so brutally trampled upon" as the rights of the Serb people in Kosovo and Metohija.

"The United Europe to which we belong is our goal and our future. Unfortunately, in one part of Serbia, in Kosovo and Metohija, political extremism, often hand in glove with terrorism, demanding, in the form of an ultimatum, the creation of another Albanian state, is a serious obstacle to stability in the entire Balkans," said Draskovic.

"We demand that the Serbs, Montenegrins and other non-Albanians in Kosovo enjoy the rights guaranteed to them by the United Nations Charter and to have the United Nations respect, in accordance with its Charter and international law, the principle that borders of states can neither be changed by force nor renamed. The respect of these principles will open the doors to an agreement on the future human and European status of Kosovo," Draskovic stated.

KFOR Raises Battle Preparedness Around Gnjilane

Gnjilane, 16 Sep (Makfax) – US Army Forces, part of KFOR in the Eastern part of Kosovo, raised battle preparedness for the forthcoming talks about Kosovo future status, reported Kosovo media today.

Multi National Brigade East (MNB-E) Commander General John Harrel, announced this decision after his meeting with municipal leaders of Gnjilane, adding that the Multi National force in Kosovo are ready to handle any situation.

General Harrel noted he does not expect instability in the Gnjilane region, when talks about status are about to begin, because according to the General, “in democracy, people are free to discuss all issues”.

General Harrel added that soldiers are ready to prevent undesired events.

KFOR determines red security zones in East region

GJILAN, Friday, September 16, 2005 (KosovaLive) - We have determined the red zones in the East region, Commander of Multinational Brigade East, General John S. Harrel said Thursday during a meeting with municipal authorities in Gjilan.

The three red zones are the zone around the Orthodox Church and the zone around UNMK Regional Headquarter in the city of Gjilan, and the zone around Orthodox Church in Crnica village.

KFOR has made no increase of state of readiness now in the eve of the status talks. However

General Harrel said that KFOR does not expect any troubles in the region. However he stressed that it is ready to respond to whatever situation.

Independent Kosovo possible, but not by force, says British minister

ZURICH, Sept. 16, 2005 (BETA) - Independence is one of the possible solutions for Kosovo, but the future status will not be imposed either one-sidedly or by force, said British Minister for Europe Douglas Alexander.

"Kosovo's final status, whatever it may be, must be reached through negotiations, must be fair to all communities in Kosovo and must stimulate regional stability and multiethnicity," Alexander said in an interview with Swiss International Relations and Security Network (ISN) in the face of his pending visits to Pristina and Belgrade.

He also said that Great Britain would not "dictate the future of Kosovo."

Alexander added that the beginning of talks on Kosovo's future status depended on a positive report by the U.N. secretary general's special envoy for the evaluation of standards, Kai Eide.