Despite statements about today’s constructive dialogue and progress in talks on future EU-Russian cooperation, the EU and Russian representatives failed to reach agreement over Kosovo, both sides refusing to budge from their long-held position. Moreover, Russia continued to insist on respect for the Helsinki Charter and all other international acts and laws.

EU sources in Brussels also announced that a decision would be taken soon on sending a mission to Kosovo.

The only point the two sides agreed on was to refuse to talk about the Kosovo independence date with certainty. The meeting’s host Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said that no-one was recognizing anything for the time being, and that recognition could be left to individual countries, and not the EU, which can only adopt a hypothetical position on the matter.

Lavrov said that Moscow was not too optimistic about holding a UN Security Council session tomorrow, which Serbia has demanded, but added that it would be wrong not to take advantage of that opportunity, because it is necessary to do everything possible to prevent the situation from developing negatively.

“It would be a mistake not to turn to the UN SC,” Lavrov asserted, adding that he expected all UN SC members to demonstrate maximum responsibility.

“So far, no crucial decisions have been adopted,” the Russian foreign minister reiterated, stressing that Russia would continue investing all its effort into preventing matters from taking a turn for the worse.

“We have backed Serbia's request for a session and we hope that it will enable a honest review of positions, and that attempts are made to understand what could happen and how to avoid this,” he stated.

“It would be a mistake to declare the independence of the province,” Lavrov said after meeting with the EU diplomatic troika.

Pressing for a resumption of talks on Kosovo’s status, Lavrov pointed out that this would be possible if someone were not holding the Kosovo Albanians by the hand, forbidding them to engage in negotiations, while continually stating that independence was inevitable.

EU: Status quo unsustainable

EU representatives have said that the status quo in Kosovo is untenable ahead of a meeting with Russia in Slovenia.

EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner, High Representative Javier Solana and French Minister of State for Foreign and European Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet said prior to the meeting that the current situation was unsustainable, that years of talks had led nowhere, and that it was time to find a solution that would help stabilize the region.

Ferrero-Waldner said that she did not expect Serbia to forgo European integration because of Kosovo.

She said that the sides at today’s meeting would try to exchange opinions over Kosovo, but that she remained realistic when it came to the EU and Russia’s positions converging.

The commissioner said that talks on Kosovo had been going on for years, but without reaching a solution.

“The EU’s position is that Kosovo’s current status is untenable and that we need a lasting solution,“ said Ferrero-Waldner.

Although Moscow and Brussels' opinions on Kosovo clash, she is convinced that dialogue between the EU and Russia will nonetheless continue.

According to the commissioner, the EU’s main argument at today’s meeting will be that the EU is the region’s closest neighbor and that for that precise reason it seeks stability in the region, adding that the status quo had not brought any kind of development and that the citizens needed stability.

“We’ve done a lot of talking, and now it’s time to take a decision,“ said Ferrero-Waldner, adding that “relations can become prickly, but what’s vital is that dialogue keeps flowing.“

Solana told reporters ahead of the meeting with Russia that the two sides would discuss a number of themes today, above all EU-Russian cooperation.

As far as Kosovo was concerned, Solana said that he remained optimistic.

Although it has been announced that the subject of today’s talks will be relations between the Union and Russia, regional and international issues, it is clear that the spotlight will be on Kosovo, and specifically the proposed EU mission to the province and the upcoming independence declaration.