Kosovo Officials Slam UN-Serbia Talks

Pristina _ New talks between the UN and Serbia on the future of the UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, are unacceptable, Kosovo authorities have said.

UNMIK Spokesperson Sven Lindholm had earlier confirmed that talks were underway at the request of UN Headquarters in New York to find a solution to the undermining of UNMIK’s mandate.

Gjylnaze Syla from the opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo expressed concern that the talks could “ result in something without Pristina’s consent.”

But according to Lindholm the talks “are of technical nature” and cover areas such as "governance, police officers who left the service, railways, customs – all these areas that are related to technical issues."

Kosovo Serbs, principally in the predoiminantly Serb northern municipalities, have been defying the Pristina authorities and challenging UNMIK’s mandate since Kosovo declared independence.

“Yes, we have information that there are talks, but only citizens and legitimate institutions of Kosovo can decide on Kosovo,” Deputy Kosovo Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci was reported as saying by Kosovo’s television, RTK.

Kuci added that “any other negotiation, especially anything to do with internal issues of Kosovo, is groundless.”

Earlier this week, senior UN Headquarters officials authorised the UN office in Belgrade to conduct discussions about UNMIK with Serb officials.