July 27, 2006
U.S. Office Pristina

Press Availability

Ambassador Frank Wisner

Kosovo Assembly Building, July 27, 2006

President Fatmir Sejdiu (translated from Albanian): We had an outstanding meeting with Ambassador Wisner and the new leader of the USOP, Ms Tina Kaidanow, whom I salute on the occasion. We talked about all the latest developments in the negotiation process, and especially about the last meeting in Vienna. And it was a joint estimation that the meeting was very important. We have often discussed our position on the future status of Kosovo, of course, in the presence of the international community and in the presence of both delegations. I thanked the U.S. for their engagement, and especially Mr. Wisner and the USOP, who continually support our work speeding up the process and helping keep it on the right track. We also hope that 2006 will be the year when our aspirations will come true. In this aspect, we as Kosovo’s representatives will fully engage to be as constructive as possible, and negotiate for the status that is in the best interests of the citizens of Kosovo.

Ambassador Frank Wisner: Mr. President, thank you very much and my appreciation as well to the members of the unity team for the reception you gave me this morning. I also would like to join you and express my admiration for you Mr. President and to the entire unity team for the conduct of the discussions in Vienna. I believe they were successful, it was an historic occasion, a moment in history has been passed and the Albanian side was frank, respectful and restrained. I also have noted to my friends in Belgrade that they behaved and conducted these talks in a dignified manner. Now the busy time lies ahead, Mr. President and I know that the United States and your team will work closely together with President Ahtisaari, who has our full support to put in place the remaining issues that have to be settled so that a final status agreement can be reached before the end of 2006. That remains the goal of the United States Mr. President, as I assured your colleagues on the Unity Team, the political leaders of Kosovo and of you Sir yourself. But I would be wrong if I did not also underscore the commitment of the United States to one of the guiding principles of the Contact Group of Nations, articulated at the beginning of the negotiations. And that is the principle of Kosovo as an integral community and area, the principle of no partition of Kosovo, no change in the properly understood borders. That principle was articulated and will continue to guide the work of the Contact Group in the weeks and months ahead. It is a principle that is both respected in international practice of law, and is a political principle important to all nations in this western Balkan area. It is a principle that deals directly with the capability to maintain stability and peace and therefore is precious to us. Mr. President, with those brief remarks I want to thank you again for you hospitality and I am pleased today to be joined by my colleague, the Chief of our Mission, Ms. Kaidanow and we will all be working together in the common effort in the time ahead. Thank you sir.

Question: In the negotiations in Vienna few days ago you saw the different position of both sides. Do you consider that, taking into consideration these positions of both sides, that an imposed solution is the best solution for Prisitna and Belgrade?

Amb. Wisner: I don’t want to jump to a conclusion that is premature. I believe there is important work that is going to fall to your unity team here and to the Serbian negotiators to put in place a common vision -- a practical and realistic solution -- to the way forward for Kosovo. I believe that it is important to reach agreement on municipalities, on churches, on minority rights, on the economics, before we leap to conclusions that would answer your question. There are only weeks ahead of intensified negotiations. Reaching realistic solutions to those negotiations should be all of our top priority, and to get that work behind us before we start looking at the next step.

Question: Have the Kosovar negotiators received the messages that the Contact Group passed to them?

Amb. Wisner: I can only assure you that our dialogue with the Unity Team and with the political leadership is always extraordinarily effective. We had a very useful meeting this morning. We have gone over the next stage of negotiations. I believe that the Unity Team understands absolutely the imperatives of rapid negotiations and flexible positions on this side and I have no doubt that there will be good coordination and cooperation between the Contact Group and the Unity Team.

Question: Does the CG intend to have a solution for final status within this year?

Amb. Wisner: Mr. Ahtisaari, whom we all support, is running the negotiations and that effort will have to be defined by him. The timing of when his work will be completed lies in his hands, and the Contact Group will then together with the parties reflect on his conclusions.

Question: Do you really exclude the possibility of imposing a solution?

Amb. Wisner: I repeat what I said to the previous question. The job ahead of us today is to put in place the necessary elements of a final status package before we define the package. That means realistic solutions to the outstanding issues of municipalities, churches, minorities, of economics. Good solid negotiations go step by step, let’s get the next step accomplished.

Question: In the last statement of the Contact Group you have asked for more flexibility. Can you elaborate in more detail what you meant by it?

Amb. Wisner: I have, I believe, spoken yesterday to the Belgrade press. I did say to our friends in Serbia, you need flexibility. There are a lot of issues that have to be closed. Issues in the three/four areas I just mentioned in response to the previous question. And I am quite confident that both sides will approach the next round with a seriousness. The President and I have had an extremely good talk and I come away much reinforced in the confidence I traditionally had in our ability to work together. Thank you.

27. jul, 2006
Američka kancelarija u Prištini

KONFERENCIJA ZA ŠTAMPU

AMBASADOR FRENK VIZNER

Zgrada Parlamenta Kosova, 27. jul 2006.

Predsednik Fatmir Sejdiu: Imali smo izvanredno uspešan sastanak sa Ambasadorom Viznerom i novim Šefom Američke kancelarije u Prištini, gospođicom Tinom Kajdanov, kojoj ovom prilikom čestitam na imenovanju. Razgovarali smo o najnovijem razvoju događaja u procesu pregovora, a naročito o poslednjem sastanku u Beču. Naša je zajednička ocena da je ovo bio veoma važan sastanak. Često smo razgovarali o našoj poziciji po pitanju budućeg statusa Kosova, naravno, u prisustvu predstavnika međunarodne zajednice kao i predstavnika obe delegacije. Zahvalio sam se Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama na njihovoj angažovanosti i naročito gospodinu Vizneru i Američkoj kancelariji u Prištini koji su nam neprestano pružali podršku u našem radu pomažući da se proces ubrza i održi na istom kursu. Mi se takođe nadamo da će 2006. biti godina u kojoj će se naše težnje ostvariti. U tom pogledu, mi, predstavnici Kosova, bićemo što je moguće više konstruktivni i pregovarati u korist statusa koji je u najboljem interesu građana Kosova.

Ambasador Frenk Vizner: Gospodine Predsedniče, zahvaljujem se i Vama i članovima Zajedničkog tima na prijemu koji ste mi priredili ovog jutra. Hteo bih da izrazim svoje divljenje, gospodine Predsedniče, Vama i celom Zajedničkom timu za učestvovanje u razgovorima u Beču. Verujem da su razgovori bili uspešni, da je to bila istorijska prilika, trenutak u istoriji u kojem je albanska strana bila iskrena, puna poštovanja i uzdržana. Pomenuo sam i svojim prijateljima u Beogradu da su se i oni u ovim pregovorima ponašali dostojanstveno. Sada nam predstoji veoma naporan period, gospodine Predsedniče, i znam da će Sjedinjene Američke Države i Vaš tim usko sarađivati sa Predsednikom Ahtisarijem koji uživa našu punu podršku u rešavanju preostalih važnih pitanja koja moraju da se razreše kako bi se dogovor o konačnom statusu mogao postići do kraja 2006. godine. To i dalje ostaje cilj Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, gospodine Predsedniče, i to sam ponovo naglasio kolegama u Vašem zajedničkom timu, političkom rukovodstvu Kosova i Vama. Pogrešio bih kada ne bih u isto vreme podvukao i odlučnost Sjedinjenih Američkih Država da ispoštuje jedan od vodećih principa članica Kontakt grupe koji je izrečen na početku pregovora. Taj princip je princip Kosova kao integralne zajednice, jednog integralnog područja, princip po kome nema podele Kosova i nema promene već jasno određenih granica. Ovaj princip je jasno izražen i on će i dalje biti vodilja u radu Kontakt grupe u nedeljama i mesecima koji su pred nama. Radi se o principu koji je poznat u međunarodnom pravu, a u isto vreme i neophodnom političkom principu koji je važan za sve nacije ovog područja Zapadnog Balkana. Ovaj princip je u direktnoj vezi sa mogućnostima održanja stabilnosti i mira i prema tome veoma nam je dragocen. Gospodine Predsedniče, ovim kratkim komentarima želim još jednom da Vam se zahvalim na Vašem gostoprimstvu i da izrazim svoje zadovoljstvo zbog prisustva moje koleginice, Šefa Misije, gospođice Kajdanov kao i da naglasim da ćemo svi zajedno raditi na zajedničkim poslovima u vremenu koje je ispred nas. Hvala Vam, gospodine.

Pitanje: Tokom pregovora u Beču pre nekoliko dana, uvideli ste različite pozicije dveju strana. Da li smatrate, uzimajući u obzir te različite pozicije, da je nametnuto rešenje najbolje rešenje i za Prištinu i za Beograd?

Ambasador Vizner: Ne želim da žurim sa donošenjem zaključaka koji su preuranjeni. Verujem da vaš zajednički tim kao i predstavnici srpskog pregovaračkog tima imaju veoma težak zadatak pred sobom kako bi ostvarili zajedničku viziju - praktično i realno rešenje za unapređenje Kosova. Verujem da je važno doći do sporazuma po pitanju opština, verskih objekata, prava manjina i ekonomskih pitanja pre nego što požurimo sa zaključcima koji bi bili odgovor na vaše pitanje. Samo nekoliko nedelja nas dele od početka intenzivnijih pregovora. Postizanje realnih rešenja u ovim pregovorima treba da bude naš najveći prioritet. Trebamo prvo ostaviti taj deo posla iza sebe kako bi smo mogli preći na sledeći korak.

Pitanje: Da li su predstavnici kosovskog pregovaračkog tima primili poruku koju im je prosledila Kontakt grupa?

Ambasador Vizner: Mogu vam jedino reći da je naš dijalog sa Zajedničkim timom i sa političkim rukovodstvom uvek krajnje efikasan. Naš sastanak jutros bio je izuzetno koristan. Zajedno smo prošli sve detalje sledeće faze pregovora. Verujem da Zajednički tim u potpunosti shvata neophodnost brzih pregovora i njihove fleksibilnosti i ne sumnjam da će koordinacija i saradnja između Kontakt grupe i Zajedničkog tima biti dobra.

Pitanje: Da li Kontakt grupa namerava da se sporazum o konačnom statusu postigne tokom ove godine?

Ambasador Vizner: Gospodin Ahtisari, koga svi podržavamo, rukovodi pregovorima i na njemu je da o tome odlučuje. Odluka o vremenu koje je potrebno da se posao završi je u njegovim rukama, i Kontakt grupa će tek tada zajedno sa drugim učesnicima u procesu dati svoje mišljenje o njegovim zaključcima.

Pitanje: Da li zaista isključujete mogućnost nametnutog rešenja?

Ambasador Vizner: Ponavljam ono što sam rekao u svom prethodnom odgovoru na vaše pitanje. Posao koji se danas nalazi pred nama sastoji se od primene svih potrebnih elemenata paketa koji se zove konačan status i to pre definisanja samog paketa. To znači postizanje realnih rešenja za preostala nerešena pitanja vezana za opštine, crkve, položaj manjina i ekonomiju. Dobri, čvrsti pregovori teku korak po korak, zato - načinimo sledeći korak.

Pitanje: U poslednjoj izjavi Kontakt grupe traži se više fleksibilnosti. Možete li preciznije objasniti šta se pod tim podrazumeva?

Ambasador Vizner: Juče sam, čini mi se, razgovarao sa predstavnicima medija u Beogradu. Rekao sam našim prijateljima u Srbiji da im je potrebna fleksibilnost. Mnoga pitanja moraju biti okončana. To su pitanja vezana za tri-četiri oblasti koje sam upravo nabrojao kao odgovor na prethodno pitanje. Ubeđen sam da će obe strane narednoj rundi pregovora pristupiti sa ozbiljnošću. Predsednik i ja imali smo izuzetno dobar sastanak i ja odlazim sa tradicionalnim ubeđenjem koje je sada još više pojačano - da smo u mogućnosti da radimo zajedno. Hvala vam.

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