Mediators from Russia, the U.S. and the EU have made a final visit to Belgrade to discuss the status of the breakaway province of Kosovo with Serbian and Kosovan officials. The mediators will next report to the UN by the deadline of December 10. They'll c
The Troika report will not contain concrete proposals, so whether Kosovo will gain full independence as it desires, or if it will become an autonomous province of Serbia as Belgrade would prefer, remains to be seen. Meanwhile, Russia believes a decision must be made by Belgrade and Pristina and should not include the UN-sponsored plan, which suggests granting limited independence to Kosovo – a proposal which Belgrade has rejected. On Monday Russia's Troika envoy Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko reiterated that the final decision lies within the UN. “This question is to be finally resolved in the Security Council. The Troika mandate at this stage of negotiations will be completed by December 10. The Troika will present the report and we expect the UN Security Council will continue discussions on the basis of this report in the coming weeks,” he said. The EU is divided on the issue while the U.S. backs independence for Kosovo.