Clinton urges quick start to Kosovo-Serbia talks (1st Lead)

Oct 13, 2010, 14:25 GMT

Pristina, Kosovo - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in Pristina on the final stop of her Balkan tour, Wednesday urged Kosovo and Serbian leaders to launch a dialogue quickly and said Washington intends to be involved.

Renewing comments made in Belgrade a day earlier, Clinton said the talks should focus on everyday issues instead of the problem of Kosovo's independence and Serbia's refusal to accept its secession.

Clinton said she was 'encouraged' by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's declaration that Kosovo 'is ready' for talks with Belgrade. Serbian President Boris Tadic made a similar declaration earlier.

'The United States are encouraged with the dialogue that will take place to overcome the problems,' Clinton told a press conference held jointly with Thaci.

After concluding her stay by meeting Kosovo Serb representatives, Clinton was due to travel to a NATO summit in Brussels, where she said she would begin work with her counterparts from the European Union to 'structure this dialogue.'

'There are a number of questions that have to be answered for the process, which we will begin to address with our colleagues, with the EU and Serbs,' Clinton said.

No date, agenda or venue for the planned talks has been set. The talks are to focus on shared issues, such as energy, transport, infrastructure, education and the fight against organized crime.

While Tadic earlier agreed to the dialogue under the auspices of the EU, Clinton insisted that the US would be involved.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO ousted Belgrade's security forces from its then province to end a brutal crackdown on the majority Albanians.

The US and the majority of European nations strongly supported Kosovo's secession, but Belgrade only recently, under huge pressure from EU softened its position and agreed to talk to Pristina.

Clinton was warmly welcomed by Pristina residents. On her way from the airport, she visited the statue of her husband, former president Bill Clinton, which the Albanians erected a year ago in gratitude for his role in the intervention against Serbia.

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