A key element in attempts to reach political solution for the Kosovo problem is the position of the Serb minority in Kosovo, who should be guaranteed safety and a certain level of autonomy, Drnovsek wrote in his letter, copies of which were sent to presidents of member-states of the Contact Group for Kosovo, the leader of the Serb Orthodox Church, Patriarch Pavle, the European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana and the United Nations' Secretary General, Kofi Annan.
According to a press release which the Office of the Slovene President issued on Tuesday, Drnovsek believes that the key to the solution of the position of the Serb minority is the definition of the ex-territorial status for the monuments of the Serb religious and cultural heritage in Kosovo. In this context, Drnovsek calls on the Serb Orthodox Church to offer solutions.
The Slovene head of states cites the monasteries of Visoki Decani and Gracanica, the monastery and the Church entity in Pec, and the Cathedral of Our Lady in Prizren as well as Banja Monastery as monuments which should be given exterritorial status and all of them should be put on the UNESCO list of the World Heritage.
The above-mentioned facilities and monuments would be under the jurisdiction of Serbia and international peace forces would be deployed as the security.
Being dissatisfied with the return of Serbs to Kosovo, Drnovsek proposes that Serb refugees should be enabled to go back to predominantly Serb-populated settlements if their previous homes in Kosovo are now in Albanian-populated municipalities.
The latest proposal made by the Slovene President is a supplement to his plan for Kosovo which he presented 10 days ago proposing the independence of Kosovo in five years' time with guarantees for Serbs' rights.
His initial plan elicited strong criticism both among Kosovo Albanian leaders and in Serbia, which Drnovsek interpreted as a good compromise as it did not satisfy interests of one side only.