Security Council backs direct talks in Vienna on Kosovo

The United Nations Security Council today welcomed the opening of talks between the Government of Serbia and Montenegro and the Kosovo Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG) and called upon both parties to work on technical level problems.

The talks were held Tuesday in Vienna.

A press statement issued by the Council President said members "welcomed the opening of a direct dialogue on practical issues of mutual interest between authorities in Belgrade and Pristina."

They also called upon "all parties on both sides to participate fully in the technical dialogue as it moves to expert-level working groups," the statement said. "The working groups will focus on practical issues of mutual interest such as energy, transportation, missing persons, and refuges and internally displaced persons."

Besides representative from both sides, also attending the talks were ranking diplomats from the so-called Contact Group - the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and the Russian Federation - as well diplomats from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).