Serbia, Kosovo hold ground as direct talks start

By Philip Pullella and Paul Eckert

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Leaders of Serbia and the Kosovo Albanians held their first direct talks on the future of the breakaway Serbian province with international mediators on Friday but neither side budged from its position.

The only concrete result of the two-hour meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly appeared to be that the three-way talks would continue, with a new session set for October 14 in Brussels.

"There is no intention to turn back. Of course, at this stage the vision of the future is different, but they are ready to continue these talks," Russian mediator Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko told a news conference.

Both sides acknowledged that "violence, provocation and intimidation would constitute a grave risk for the (current negotiations) as well as for the stability and security of the region," according to a joint "New York Declaration."

Major powers have set a December 10 deadline for an agreement on the final status of Kosovo, which has been in legal limbo under U.N. administration since 1999, when NATO waged an air war to drive out Serbian forces and halt ethnic cleansing.

Serbia, backed by Russia with its U.N. veto power, rejects independence for Kosovo. But the territory's 2 million ethnic Albanians -- 90 percent of the population -- will settle for nothing less and have received Washington's backing.

"Both sides ... indicated to us through this meeting and through their conduct and through the conclusion that they wish this process to continue ... . This is a good sign," said European Union mediator Wolfgang Ischinger.

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