KOSOVO: Serbs and ethnic Albanians eased their way into a first round of talks yesterday that will lead ultimately to a decision on whether the disputed province of Kosovo gets independence or remains part of Serbia.
"It's going pretty well," an official close to the meeting said. "There's no blood on the floor and they're still in the room. Of course, there are a few disagreements, but we expected that."
Diplomats say independence for Kosovo, whose population is 90 per cent ethnic Albanian, is almost certain after seven years of UN stewardship.
Belgrade says independence is unthinkable. Rich in Orthodox religious heritage, Kosovo has been central to Serb identity for 1,000 years.
The Serbian province of two million people has been run by the United Nations since 1999, when Nato bombing drove out Serb forces accused of atrocities against ethnic Albanian civilians in a two-year war with separatist rebels.
Around 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed in the war and up to 800,000 driven from their homes. Then, as Serb forces pulled out, thousands of Serbs followed, fleeing revenge attacks.
The talks, due to carry on into today, focused initially on practical issues regarding Kosovo's Serb minority of 100,000, who have been ghettoised.
The two eight-member teams sat at a horseshoe table chaired by a deputy to UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari. Delegates posed stiffly for photographs. There were no handshakes. "We want the status resolved as soon as possible," said Kosovo Albanian delegation chief Lutfi Haziri.