China calls for dialogue to settle Kosovo issue

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Thursday urged all parties involved in the Kosovo issue to seek mutually acceptable settlement through dialogue.

Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remark at a Security Council open debate on Kosovo, stressing that Council resolution 1244 is an important legal basis for the settlement of the Kosovo issue.

"In accordance with the UN charter, the resolution and international law, all parties should strive to seek mutually acceptable settlement plan through dialogue and negotiation and this remains a best option for solving the question of Kosovo," he said.

"China welcomes the positive results reached at the high-level political talks between Belgrade and Pristina," Liu said, encouraging both parties to carry out pragmatic and constructive dialogue and seek a lasting settlement to the Kosovo issue in a bid to maintain peace and stability in the Balkan region and Europe as a whole.

The situation in the northern part of Kosovo remains tense, Liu said, calling on all parties to effectively protect the legitimate interests of all ethnic communities in Kosovo, actively promote national reconciliation, and take cautious approach to resolve their difference in dialogue while avoiding any action that might escalate, complicate or aggravate the situation.

China hoped that the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and other international presence would strengthen coordination and cooperation in order to play a positive and constructive role in settling existing issues, Liu said.

Kosovo is the subject of a long-running political and territorial dispute between Belgrade and Pristina. Serbia categorically refuses to recognize Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008, though most leading European countries and the United States have exchanged diplomats with Kosovo.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-08/30/c_125278295.htm