New round of Kosovo talks to begin Monday amid pessimism

    VIENNA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- A new round of talks on the future status of Kosovo will be held in Vienna on Monday, which observers believe will not result in any progress due to disagreement between Serbians and Kosovo Albanians.

    This round of talks might be the last direct dialogue under the Troika comprising the European Union, the United States and Russia.

    All parties involved regard the talks as "a critical dialogue" and its results would have a crucial impact on the future status of Kosovo.

    According to the schedule, the delegates from two sides, headed by Serbian President Boris Tadic and Kosovo Albanian leader Fatmir Sejdiu, would respectively meet with the three special envoys of the Troika before the formal talks begin at the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

    The talks will discuss the Troika's 14-point proposal on the future status of Kosovo, but the results are seen as gloomy by all parties because the Serbians, with the support of Russia, are against the independence of Kosovo, while the Kosovo Albanians, with the obvious encouragement from the U.S., insist on independence.

    In spite of the gloomy prospects, Serbians hope that the future status of Kosovo could be solved through negotiations with the support of the United Nations. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said recently that the new round of talks "might be definitive" and that it's possible for two sides to find a common position if the talks continue.

    The U.S. and the EU are against the proposal by the Serbians for maintaining the talks, while Russia expressed its support to the Serbians.

    U.N. mediator Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, submitted a draft plan in March, which envisions internationally-supervised independence for Kosovo. This plan was the basis for the draft resolution by the United States and other Western countries, but was repeatedly criticized by Serbia and Russia as being partial toward the Kosovo side.

    Due to the opposition of Russia, the United States and other Western countries decided not to refer their draft for the future status of Kosovo to the U.N. Security Council on July 20, and chose to encourage negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo with time limitations.