Diplomats in bid to end Kosovo deadlock

Talks between a European, Russian and US diplomat to break the deadlock over the future status of Kosovo are expected to start next week.

The names of the three men who will spend the next four months trying to broker a compromise between Serbia and Kosovo were announced this week. On Tuesday (31 July) Russia named senior diplomat Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko as its representative in the talks following the announcement on Sunday that German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger would represent the EU and Frank Wisner would represent the US.

"We don’t expect talks to kick off in the next two days but it is going to be soon," said one EU diplomat.

A meeting last week (25 July) of the Contact Group on the Balkans - involving the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the US - decided that three diplomats would conduct the shuttle diplomacy on Kosovo.

Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said: "Talks on Kosovo’s status could start soon, of course on condition that they are thoroughly prepared by the Contact Group."

The major issue is whether Russia will play a constructive role in the talks. At present, Russia backs Serbia, which rejects a UN plan to give Kosovo ‘supervised independence’.

One EU diplomat said that Russia’s quick nomination of an envoy and comments from the foreign ministry had been "fairly positive".

Talks between a European, Russian and US diplomat to break the deadlock over the future status of Kosovo are expected to start next week.