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No Referendum on Future of Kosovo, UN Administrators Says
There will be no mention of a referendum on the future status of Kosovo, the Yugoslav province, in laws establishing the framework for provisional self-government, the top U.N. administrator of the province said here Wednesday.
Administrator Hans Haekkerup told a press conference that work on the legal framework was all but complete, and that it would satisfy "98 percent" of the demands of the Kosovo Albanian majority, except for a referendum on independence.
He made the statement after briefing the U.N. Security Council at a closed-door meeting. He told the 15-nation U.N. body that he expected to call elections for a legislative assembly later this year.
The framework will provide adequate guarantees for the Kosovo Serbs, without meeting their demand for a veto in the assembly over matters of vital interest.
"Since we are not in full agreement with either the Kosovo Serbs or the Kosovo Albanians, it might be a good compromise," he said.
"If there was any chance of a consensus, I would be prepared to walk the extra mile, but we are not yet ready for making consensus, " he said.
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