U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Kosovo on October 13, 2010 to start talks with Serbia as soon as possible, despite a political crisis in Pristina over the president's resignation.
Clinton said, "We think the dialogue should start as soon as it is ready because even though there will be elections here and then in the following years elections in Serbia, we believe that it is in Kosovo's interest for this dialogue to begin and conclude in as expeditious a manner as possible," according to Reuters.
Speaking after meeting Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, she said the U.S. would play a supportive role in the European Union-brokered talks and that she will discuss the path to take with European leaders at meetings in Brussels on October 14 on the final stop of her European tour.
Clinton stressed that the dialogue "cannot go on for a long time. It needs to be focused and produce results."
Last month, Belgrade and Pristina agreed to move ahead with talks about the practical issues in the region. These range from technical questions such as transport, telecommunications and energy to more sensitive issues as returning of refugees, wartime missing persons, the status of the Serbian Orthodox monasteries and the majority Serbs living in northern Kosovo.
But just weeks after the agreement, Kosovo was shaken by the sudden resignation of President Fatmir Sejdiu for internal political reasons.
After meeting Clinton, Thaci said Pristina was ready to heal the long-running rift with Belgrade. "Time has come for finishing a century-old conflict between Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo is ready," the prime minister said.
Kosovo was a province of Serbia, but seceded from Serbia in 2008, and declared itself an independent nation. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled this past summer that Kosovo's secession was legal. The ICJ ruling was criticized by many scholars of international law.
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