Kosovo and the Region Prepare for Change: Relations, Responsible Governance, and Regional Security
Kosovo and the Region Prepare for Change: Relations, Responsible Governance, and Regional Security

Contributor(s): Livia Plaks (Editor)
Subject(s): Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: PER Project on Ethnic Relations
Keywords: Kosova and its neighbors; Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo; Belgrade-Prishtina-dialogue;
Summary/Abstract: Six years after Kosovo was placed under the interim administration of the United Nations, 2005 has been called a decisive year for the province. The first indication that this is indeed the case came in March, when the UN Secretary General appointed a Special Envoy to conduct a comprehensive review of the so-called democratic “standards” mandated for Kosovo. Following this review, and depending on its outcome, in the fall of 2005, a formal process for resolving Kosovo’s status will be launched by the UN. In early 2005, while the international community appeared to be moving forward on the Kosovo issue, authorities in Belgrade and Pristina showed some signs of breaking their ongoing stalemate over official communication. Throughout the spring, reports of a potential meeting between Serbian President Boris Tadic and Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova appeared in the media, but an actual encounter failed to materialize. With Kosovo Serbs continuing to boycott provisional institutions of selfgovernment in Pristina, the positions of Serbs and Albanians over Kosovo appeared as entrenched as ever. ###While realizing that the large question of Kosovo’s status will only be resolved through a process established by the United Nations, the Project on Ethnic Relations nonetheless judged that an informal and off-the-record dialogue among Albanians, Serbs, leaders of neighboring countries, and representatives of international organizations could be of value at this time. In July 2005, in cooperation with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, PER convened a roundtable discussion under the title “Kosovo and the Region Prepare for Change: Relations, Responsible Governance, and Regional Security.” The agenda for the discussion included three broad topics: the regional implications of Kosovo’s future status, possibilities for high-level dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, and relations between Kosovo’s Albanian and Serb communities.

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