Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon discussed Kosovo on Saturday, agreeing that all involved parties should work together to solve the issue. "We emphasised that joint action is needed to achieve the common good," Rupel said in New York.
"I am happy to say that we hold very similar views. We want less tension and drama and a more coordinated solution to the crisis", the foreign minister said after the talks, adding that the UN played a very important role in solving the Kosovo issue.
According to Rupel, Ban is very much focused on Kosovo and has some new ideas. "We will have to devote our attention to that and consider them also in the EU".
Rupel expects several meetings on future efforts regarding Kosovo to take place in the coming days and weeks. "General election in Serbia is approaching and the EU is pursuing several options".
Asked whether Kosovo could be divided along ethnic lines, Rupel said that was not an option. "It is necessary to know that the Serbs (in Kosovo) do not only live in Mitrovica...and we do not want any new ethnic cleansing".
Before meeting Ban, Rupel discussed Kosovo with Gareth Evans, president and CEO of the International Crisis Group, an independent non-governmental organisation.
On Saturday evening he took part in a reception organised by the Slovenian Consulate General in New York, also attended by members of the parliamentary Commission for Slovenians Abroad, which launched its visit to Slovenians living in the US in New York.
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