UNMIK/PR/1121
PRISTINA - At a meeting between SRSG Harri Holkeri and the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and President of CCK Nebojsa Covic today it was agreed that the Pristina-Belgrade direct dialogue will convene in the last week of February or the first week of March.
The meeting also discussed the issue of the participation of Kosovo Serbs in the Standards implementation process.
Mr. Holkeri told Mr. Covic that in his recent travels to New York, Washington DC and London, the message was the same: consistent interest by the international community in favour of the dialogue and a sense of urgency that the working groups must convene soon.
He said it had been agreed that the Pristina delegation will be multi-ethnic, but Coalition Povratak has yet to give the names of its nominees for these working groups. He was hopeful that Coalition Povratak will provide these names on Wednesday, as promised by its leader Mr. Dragisa Krstovic. Mr. Holkeri reaffirmed the Kosovo Serbs’ concerns that the standards process undermines UNSCR 1244 and prejudges the final status is wholly unfounded.
Mr. Holkeri also agreed to Mr. Covic’s suggestion to convene the High Ranking Working Group (HRWG) in March. The time and place for this meeting has yet to be decided. The HRWG, he pointed out, should not be a replacement for the Pristina-Belgrade direct dialogue.
During the meeting, SRSG Holkeri and Mr. Covic also discussed the concerns of the monks of the monastery in Prizren. The SRSG assured Mr. Covic that both UNMIK and KFOR are committed to allowing freedom of movement and maintain a safe and secure environment and that the concerns of the monks reported by the media were exaggerated and groundless.
The meeting was followed by a working lunch when privatization and customs issues were discussed.