Long-awaited U.N.-mediated talks on the future status of Kosovo opened Monday in Vienna, the Associated Press reported. "We want to resolve the status as soon as possible. Independence is coming," said Lutfi Haziri, Kosovo's minister of local government, who is leading the province's delegation. Representatives of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians and Serb minority sat across from each other at a table draped with green cloth inside Vienna's Daun-Kinsky Palace. The process is being mediated by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who was appointed by the United Nations to steer the talks toward an agreement, preferably by the end of this year. "Any future settlement is about minority rights and safety," said Hua Jiang, Ahtisaari's spokeswoman. She said the entire process was "about setting up a multi-ethnic society in Kosovo." Jiang said the first round of talks will deal with local government reform aimed at enhancing the rights of Serbs and other minorities, since "both sides have a willingness to tackle it." "We hope it will be a good start," she said. Diplomats from the so-called Contact Group _ the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia _ have already agreed on a set of guidelines for Kosovo's future.
