Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 306: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the recent discussions he has had with respect to the situation in Kosovo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25428/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The issue of Kosovo's final status remains high on the EU's foreign policy agenda and is the subject of regular discussions at Foreign Minister level, most recently at the General Affairs and External Relations Council of 15 October last. It is my intention to visit Pristina and Belgrade next month to discuss the situation with key political figures there, and assess the situation further.

Together with our EU partners, Ireland has consistently expressed strong support for the work of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari. In March, Special Envoy Ahtisaari brought forward a Comprehensive Proposal. He recommended that Kosovo's status should be independence, supervised by the international community. The proposal includes detailed provisions concerning the promotion and protection of the rights of communities and their members. It also sets out constitutional, economic and security measures, aimed at contributing to the development of a multi-ethnic, democratic and prosperous Kosovo. A key element of the proposed settlement would be a continuing international civilian and military presence in Kosovo.

Ireland welcomed this proposal, as providing the most practical basis for a settlement of the Kosovo issue by a new Resolution of the UN Security Council, to replace Security Council Resolution 1244 under which Kosovo has been governed since 1999. Regrettably however, intensive efforts within the UN Security Council to agree on a new Resolution ended in failure. In late July, the Contact Group (US, Russia, UK, France, Germany, Italy and the EU Council) established a Troika to facilitate a further four months of direct talks between Belgrade and Pristina. No agreement has yet been found, and the Troika is due to report to the UN Secretary General on the outcome of these talks on 10 December.

Ireland strongly supports the Troika-led process and we hope that these talks may yet produce an agreed way forward. In the event of failure, however, we recognise that difficult choices will need to be made which deal with the reality of the situation on the ground and safeguard the future stability and security of Kosovo and the Balkan region as a whole. Since August, we have increased our commitment to KFOR to 270 troops, following our assumption of command of Task Force Centre, which covers the capital Pristina and the surrounding area. While we will face a more complex and uncertain political and legal environment in the event that there is no agreement on final status, we very much hope to be in a position to maintain our presence in KFOR, to consider contributing members of the Garda to an ESDP Mission and also to support the future economic development of Kosovo.