On September 28, New York will host a fresh round of talks between Serbia and Kosovo. This time, talks will be direct after, over the past 30 days, representatives of the diplomatic trio, Frank Wisner of the US, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko of Russia and Wolfgang Ischinger of the EU reached a dead-end on Kosovo in Vienna and London.

The summit will have Serbia’s latest proposal for a solution on the status of Kosovo high on the agenda. Serbia came up with the solution shortly after the plan of UN envoy to Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari was rejected and the subsequent warning of Kosovo’s prime minister and president alike that on November 28 the Albanian-dominated province would proclaim unilateral independence.

The latest Serbian solution was revealed on September 19 by Serbia’s minister for Kosovo, Slobodan Samardzic, and has already gained the approval of the diplomatic trio. The plan promotes the so-called “loose integration” model, which will grant Albanian Kosovars “substantial autonomy” for the next 10 to 20 years.

Based on the Hong Kong model, it presumes that Kosovo will be a self-governed territory both in political and economic terms. It will also have the authority to independently hold talks with international financial institutions and partake in regional initiatives. Serbia’s intervention will only have the final say on foreign policy, border control and military issues, although it will not be mandatory to enforce the latter.

In addition, the parties will consider whether the province will remain under the protection of international institutions, such as the United Nations, to avert any potential repeat of the 1998-1999 series of conflicts. It is suggested that international presence should be provided in the form of both civil and military missions.

The outcome from the September 28 talks is still precarious as Kosovo’s political leadership has been more united than ever behind the idea of proclaiming unilateral independence. Speaking to Reuters news agency, Samardzic has insisted that Kosovo should be more yielding to Serbia’s proposal for a compromise or else the conflict could continue for decades. The plan represents an significant agreement, the minister said, adding that Serbia is making an historic compromise, which sees none of the parties an absolute winner. Rather, it serves as a reconciliation.

With or without a formal agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, the UN Security Council will be discussing Serbia’s plan on December 10. The UN has set this date as the tentative deadline for completion of the Kosovo issue. However, approval, which will be passed only with UN Security Council’s full majority, might not be given by Russia.

The country is fearful an independent Kosovo would trigger a chain reaction in breakaway regions, including territories in the former Soviet Union.

Emerging from a meeting, in early September, with his French counterpart Bernard Couchner, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned an independent Kosovo could open a Pandora’s box.

“I do not see how granting Kosovo unilateral independence will stabilise the situation in Europe,” Lavrov said, as quoted by RIA Novosti newswire. “It is more likely to trigger a chain reaction on the continent and around the world. Russia would like to prevent such a scenario knowing that other countries also want the same.”

Earlier this year, Russia blocked Ahtisaari’s plan, which was devised over a 13-month period and which entailed granting Kosovo the status of an independent state this year. Russia also believes that talks should not be restricted by tentative deadlines, alluding to UN’s self-prescribed date of December 10 2007.

Bulgaria has officially joined the team of ultimate solution promoters. Bulgaria’s Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said: “I think that, theoretically, there is an opportunity, a field in which the positions of the Serbian and the Kosovo sides could be brought together and step-by-step progress could lead to a permanent solution.”