Top UN envoy and Serb officials discuss Kosovo

The top United Nations envoy for Kosovo met with Serbian officials in Belgrade today to discuss a wide range of issues ahead of an upcoming meeting of the Security Council on Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia just over a year ago.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Lamberto Zannier held meetings with President Boris Tadic, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, and Minister for Kosovo Goran Bogdanovic, according to information provided by the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), which is headed by Mr. Zannier.

They discussed a broad range of issues related to the Secretary-General’s latest report on UNMIK, in which he stressed the need for a reconfiguration of UNMIK after Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in February 2008.

Mr. Zannier briefed the Serbian officials on the deployment of the European Union rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX), the reconfiguration of UNMIK, and his recent consultations in Brussels.

He emphasized his expectations that the EU, in particular through EULEX, would play an increasingly important role in helping to resolve practical issues.

Today’s discussions follow similar consultations the Special Representative held with authorities in Pristina earlier this month.