Verdeling Kosovo wordt niet uitgesloten als uitweg van impasse (en)
Just days after Belgrade and Pristina entered a final round of diplomacy on the fate of Kosovo, the idea of partitioning Serbia's breakaway province, once taboo, has been floated as a possible way out from the year-long deadlock.
"It is the principle of the [international] troika to be prepared to endorse any agreement which both parties manage to achieve. That includes all options", the European Union's mediator Wolfgang Ischinger said on Sunday (12 August).
When asked by media whether dividing the territory in two would be considered, Mr Ischinger added "if they want to...we are open to all options".
It is believed that the division would see a new border drawn along the line of the Ibar River - leaving the northern part of Kosovo, dominated by ethnic Serbs, as part of Serbia. Serbs make up 5.3 percent of Kosovo's 2.2 million population, with approximately half of them living in the north.
The scenario has, however, been ruled out by Belgrade, with the spokesman of the Democratic Party of Serbia - led by prime minister Vojislav Kostunica - saying "Serbia will not give up an inch of its territory for the sake of EU integration", Belgrade radio B92 reported.
The international troika - made up of envoys from the US, Russia and the EU - is under strong pressure to broker a deal between the two disputed sides.
The pressure increased after the UN Security Council failed in July to adopt a resolution on Kosovo in the face of Russia's veto threat citing the principle of Serbia's territorial integrity.
Mr Ischinger has urged both the Serbs and Kosovars, to "think outside the box". "If both sides repeat their classic positions, there is little hope for compromise or bridge-building", he said, according to the BBC.
The European Commission i said on Monday (13 August) it had been following new developments "with great interests", but did not give an opinion on a possible division of Kosovo, arguing Brussels is not sitting at the negotiating table.
But the commission spokesperson added that the plan drafted by UN special envoy Marti Ahtisaari - which sets Kosovo on the road to statehood - continues to be seen in Brussels as "the best available compromise".
The troika of envoys is due to report back to the United Nations by 10 December.