If no major progress is made in defining Kosovo's status in 2005 that will ensure peace and development, there is a danger of new conflicts and regional instability, reads a report released by the ICG in Pristina on Monday.
Kosovo should not be held hostage to Belgrade's refusal of dialogue on the status of the province, but the issue should be settled in 2005, said the chief of the ICG office in Pristina, Alex Anderson.
The ICG estimates that Kosovo could be internationally recognised in mid-2006, but only after certain conditions are met. If the U.N. positively assesses progress in the implementation of international standards in Kosovo, preparations are expected to start on the organisation of an international conference on Kosovo and on a Kosovo constitution, the ICG said, underlining that the constitution had to provide for the protection of Kosovo Serbs and other minorities.
The conference on Kosovo is expected to take place by the end of the year under the auspices of the U.N. and it is expected to adopt the constitution and a Kosovo agreement. Both documents should guarantee minority rights and prevent Kosovo's return under Belgrade's rule, its partition or its unification with Albania or any other neighbouring country, the ICG said.