India has welcomed the willingness expressed by Serbia and Kosovo to resume their EU-facilitated dialogue and hopes that the talks will result in concrete progress on contentious issues between them.
India's Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Singh Puri expressed satisfaction over the peaceful conduct of Serbian presidential and parliamentary polls inside Kosovo.
"We welcome the expression of the requisite will from both Belgrade and Pristina to resume the EU-facilitated dialogue once a new government assumes office in Belgrade in order to discuss the implementation of agreements reached so far and also take up new subjects," he said.
"In this regard, we particularly welcome the statements of President Tomislav Nikolic reaffirming Serbia's commitment to honour all agreements reached in the dialogue and also his readiness to engage in talks with the Pristina leadership in the future. We hope that the talks will resume soon and result in concrete progress on the contentious issues," Puri added.
Puri was speaking at a session of the UN Security Council here yesterday on Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's report on the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo.
He said the issue of missing persons is an important humanitarian issue and hoped that with direct support and encouragement by the UN mission in Kosovo further progress would be made on the issue.
Puri, however, expressed concern over the recent inter-communal violence in parts of Kosovo, noting that all sides need to show restraint to reduce the potential for instability in the country.
He said India shares Ban's assessment that the situation in the northern part of Kosovo continues to be fragile and requires constant vigilance.
"We note with concern that a number of inter-communal violent acts took place in June-July," Puri said.
The attack on buses transporting Serb children is a matter of serious concern, as also the continuing violence and crime against Serbian minority, he said, adding that there is need for genuine outreach by Kosovo institutions, in particular the police.
"We urge the international organisations present in Kosovo to exercise their authority to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and ensure the safety of the minority," Puri said.
He added that the UN mission in Kosovo should be continued in accordance with the concerned Security Council resolution.
