(28 Sep 2007) SHOTLIST
FILE: recent
1. Wide exterior of United Nations building
2. Tilt down from road sign pointing to UN to policeman in street
September 27, 2007
3. Serbian President Boris Tadic (right) walking inside the UN
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Boris Tadic, Serbian President:
"We are ready to make compromise but we are not ready to make compromise on two issues, and that that is territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country of Kosovo. We are offering to the Kosovo Albanians the best possible rights, which means the largest autonomy in the world. But at the same time we cannot talk about the sovereignty our country because this is not accordance with international law. At the same time we are offering the Kosovo Albanians some elements of sovereign countries, for example access to international financial institutions but we cannot talk about changing of our borders."
5. Cutaway of Tadic' hands
6. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Boris Tadic, Serbian President:
"On Friday, I'm expecting talks to start from basic start. We need to try and stop any kind of violence that could trigger in the region or in our country. We want to have a peaceful and diplomatic solution. We all want to try for peaceful talks and everyone who is involved in these talks has to think about the consequences. This is a historical moment of talks between (Kosovo) Albanians and Serbs. I'm hoping and I trust that we can come to a solution."
7. Close-up of UN flag
8. Various mid shots of Tadic walking within the UN
STORYLINE
Serbia is prepared to offer its secessionist province of Kosovo the "largest autonomy in the world" in upcoming talks on the future of the region, the Serbian president said on Thursday.
President Boris Tadic described as "unhelpful" statements by US President George W. Bush and other members of the US administration that Kosovo will gain independence at the end of the current negotiating process, which is set to conclude on 10 December, 2007.
"We are ready to make compromise but we are not ready to make compromise on two issues, and that that is territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country of Kosovo," he told journalists.
"We are offering the Kosovo Albanians the best possible rights, which means the largest autonomy in the world, but at same time we cannot talk about the sovereignty our country because this is not accordance with international law," he added.
"We cannot talk about changing of our borders," he stressed.
Although he added, "I'm hoping and I trust that we can come to a solution."
Also expected at Friday's talks in New York, the first face-to-face talks between the two sides, are ethnic Albanian leaders from Kosovo and diplomat mediators from the US, Russia and the European Union.
Over the past year, the issue of Kosovo's future status has become a main irritant in the increasingly tense relationship between Moscow and Washington, with America supporting eventual independence for the province and Russia insisting that Kosovo must remain part of Serbia.
The province of 2 (m) million people, mostly ethnic Albanians, has been administered by the UN since 1999, when NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) waged a 78-day aerial war to prevent a Serb military crackdown against Albanian separatists.
The last negotiations collapsed earlier this year, when Serbia rejected a UN plan to grant supervised independence to the impoverished, landlocked region, with Kosovo's leaders insisting that independence is the only viable way forward.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
