The first contacts were in the spirit of strong cooperation and focused on practical issues rather than the future status of the province whose Albanian majority seeks independence, Austrian diplomat Albert Rohan, the moderator of the Vienna talks and assistant to chief UN negotiator Martti Ahtisaari, told the press.
Rohan told reporters that the day-and-a-half long negotiations had not been expected to yield any special results, but that the atmosphere was very constructive. We did not expect an agreement, but the presentation of different positions, so that we could consider different views. And that was successful, he said.
The first goal of the talks was to consider concrete issues and define areas of agreement, which can later be formalised. That is why only technical and not political issues were discussed, Rohan said.
Despite differing positions, there are similar views on important issues regarding decentralisation, such as the school system, health care and internal affairs, Rohan said, adding that he supported decentralisation, with emphasis on minority protection.
The question of Kosovo's status itself was not discussed for fear that the talks could end in two hours, Rohan said. Nevertheless, the talks on Kosovo's status must be completed this year, he added, but would not say what status the province would be granted.
There are two possibilities - Kosovo will either become independent from Serbia, which is demanded by two million ethnic Albanians, or it will officially remain part of Serbia but with significant changes to its current status.
The first round of talks was attended, apart from Serbian and Kosovo Albanian officials, by representatives of NATO, the United States and the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).