The Advantages of the Balkan Winter

Wolfgang Petric, the Austrian ambassador in Belgrade and the EU special envoy for Kosovo, is a professional diplomat with vast experience. Petric is a doctor of East European history and the international community's most important representative in resolving the Kosovo conflict, along with US mediator Christopher Hill.

Vreme: Mr. Petric, what is the current status of the negotiating process and has it started at all?

Petric: I believe that we are in a decisive phase now, which is one of the reasons why the process is not developing as fast as we would like it to. It shows that both sides have realized that they have to declare themselves for or against the peace talks at this stage. Although it appears that neither side is in a hurry, I hope that they will declare themselves responsibly, in a constructive way.

V: Armed clashes in Kosovo have stopped for the time being, partly due to the international community's efforts and partly due to the coming of winter. There are opinions that fighting might continue if no agreement is reached by next spring. What are the odds that this could happen?

P: We are very aware of this possibility and we are looking at things realistically. A definite agreement on Kosovo would probably be too much to expect in the near future. If fighting starts again, the international community will have to consider taking more vehement action to impose an agreement. Therefore, now is the time to capitalize on the advantages of the Balkan winter, so to speak, as heavy snow will soon cover even the deep wounds of war. It is an opportunity to bring about a political solution.

V: A few days ago, Serbian President Milan Milutinovic offered a draft of his document on Kosovo's status, but last Wednesday he failed for the second time to bring the ethnic Albanian leaders to the negotiating table. You said recently that now is not the time for new proposals.

P: First and foremost, it is important that the Serbian side is getting involved in the negotiating process and coming forward with its own ideas. On the other hand, however, it is not good to come out with a completely new proposal now. I think Christopher Hill's document is the thing to work on at this moment. Both the Contact Group and the EU are behind ambassador Hill's document, meaning that there is wide support for this plan. The Europeans as well as the Americans have invested a lot of effort in this document. We have included the so-called Venice Commission in the negotiating process, as it includes the European Council's leading law experts on questions concerning the constitution and the transformation of political systems into democratic ones.

It is very significant that these experts rely on European traditions for building a constitution, hence their proposed solution to the Kosovo problem is deeply based on European traditions of law and democracy. That is why we believe we are heading in the right direction. Naturally, all documents brought forward by the Serbs are welcome, as our law experts are reviewing president Milutinovic's proposal thoroughly to determine what particular details can be applied in the solution.

V: Most ethnic Albanian political leaders rejected Milutinovic's proposal, some of them even qualified it as a ridiculous offer and an obstruction of the negotiating process.

P: I wouldn't call it obstruction. I look at it from a positive side, as a contribution to the negotiating process. All propositions all welcome, provided that they reflect the current status of the process rather than take the matter back to square one.

V: The possible participation of the illegal Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the negotiating process is one of the crucial problems in Kosovo. You and ambassador Hill have had contacts with the KLA’s commanders in the past few weeks. What was the subject of your meeting?

P: The object of our talks with them was to tell them that it is time for talks, not violence and provocation’s. We told them that they should stop the fighting and join the negotiating process on the grounds determined so far, if they want to. Ambassador Hill gave them his draft proposal. We also told them that we expect their answer to be constructive and in accordance with the proposal. At this moment, any military action would be senseless and unacceptable, while any contribution to the negotiating process is welcome.

V: How did they react?

P: They said they would reconsider ambassador Hill's document and come forward with their own suggestions. We are still awaiting an answer, but I believe that their response will be constructive.

V: Nonetheless, abductions, killings and other provocation’s have continued. It appears that it is much easier to exert pressure on the Serbs, who have a clearly structured approach, then Kosovo's ethnic Albanians whose structure is unclear. Does the international community actually have any effective influence on the Kosovo Albanians, especially the disjointed KLA?

P: First of all, I would like to underscore that we have made it clear to the ethnic Albanian leaders that they can't control the radical factions of their movement.  Their leaders, including Rugova, can no longer distance themselves from what the KLA is doing or refuse to take responsibility for the organization's activities. Then, of course, we have Mr. Demaqi, who claims to be the KLA's political representative. We told him very clearly that he must take responsibility for the KLA’s actions if he wants to represent them. That's all as far as the political level is concerned. We are aware that the KLA is very much a decentralized organization, so we are working with KLA elements that accept the peace process. Some extremist factions will probably manage to survive at the end of the day, but that's inevitable in this kind of conflict.

V: The Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) recently joined the negotiating process, claiming that it represents Kosovo's Serb community.

P: Yes, I just spoke to Archbishop Artemije about this matter. It is my firm belief that a solution to the Kosovo conflict is possible only with the participation of all ethnic communities and their decision to live together. The Serbs, of course, are unavoidable in this issue. I think any solution ignoring Kosovo's Serbs would not be a good solution. That's why I told them we were here to underscore that the Kosovo Serbs are very important for Kosovo.

V: The international community is heavily involved in Kosovo through various institutions. There are representatives of the OSCE, NATO, the USA, the EU, the United Nations...Can the involvement of so many factors make the process complicated and create confusion?

P: It really does sound complicated, but I am convinced that they can all act in a concerted and coordinated manner. The presence of so many international organizations actually reflects the complexity of the Kosovo problem. That is why I underscore coordination as the key word. I think we learned during the Bosnian war that it is most important for the international community to be constructive and coordinated. Setting up an international presence in Kosovo is slow at the moment, precisely because we want everything to work properly.

V: Your country, Austria, has often been involved in Balkan matters, but not always in a positive way. Apart from that, Austria has had its own problems with its own and other ethnic minorities for quite some time, namely the Slovenians in Koruska and the Austrian minority in south Tyrollia. To what extent can the Austrian experience help in Kosovo?

P: I am aware of the situation in Koruska and the ways it changed over the years. It is important to point out that ethnic problems, especially the one in Kosovo, always last for a very long time. I think that Tyrollia is a very positive example. I don't want to say that the Tyrollia model should be applied in Kosovo, but it's very important as a message. The message is that ethnic conflicts can be resolved peacefully and without changing international borders,  with the international community's mediation. The United Nations mediated in the Tyrollia issue. Therefore, something can be done.