"UN envoy proposes administrative division"

27 October 2008
An Albanian language daily writes that the head of a UN Belgrade-Priština dialogue team has proposed "administrative division".According to Koha Ditore, Andrew Ladley, who heads the UN Standby Team of mediation experts on six points of the UNMIK reconfiguration plan, suggested that this division applies to northern Kosovo.

Quoting international and Kosovo Albanian sources, the newspaper reported that the New Zealand diplomat met last Friday, "far from the scrutiny of public", with President Fatmir Sejdiu, Premier Hashim Thaci and Deputy Premier Hajredin Kuci, to officially inform them about his proposal. The representatives of the Kosovo institutions "did not allow the UN envoy to present his proposal, and simply broke off the meeting", the Priština paper said.

Daily Express said that the Kosovo government officials confirmed that they met with Ladley, but denied he had given them any written document. "The meeting concluded that Kosovo functions as an independent state and we recognize only the document of envoy Ahtisaari," Kuci told this newspaper.

He said that there is little chance that this UN expert will receive agreement for the six points. "There can be no other solution for Kosovo except for that contained in Ahtisaari's document, which was also the result of a compromise," Kuci stated.