2006 Press Releases

Contact Group Press Statement - Pristina April 7, 2006

April 07, 2006

[Pristina, USOP] - The Contact Group met with Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu, PM Agim Ceku, the Kosovo Unity Team, Kosovo Serb leaders and non-Serb minorities in Pristina on April 7. The Contact Group reaffirmed its wish that all possible efforts be made to achieve a settlement in the course of 2006 and note that the final settlement needs, inter alia, to be acceptable to the people of Kosovo. The Contact Group restated its commitment to preserving a viable Serb presence in Kosovo and insisted that arrangements be negotiated in the status process to guarantee the rights and security of all of Kosovo's citizens. The Contact Group also urged Kosovo's leaders to be flexible and generous in the status negotiations, particularly on decentralization and the protection of Serbian Orthodox Church heritage in Kosovo.
Kosovo's leaders should deliver tangible results on the Standards, particularly those affecting minority communities, in order to improve the situation of minorities and all citizens. The Contact Group also encouraged Kosovo Serbs and non-Serb minorities to participate actively in the status process and Kosovo's governing institutions.