17 years from Ahtisaari Plan proposal

On 2 February 2007, the special envoy for Kosovo's status, Martti Ahtisaari, submitted his proposal to Pristina and Belgrade.

This was also the initiative to establish the independent state of Kosovo. Even though the plan surrendered, it was always thought that Martti Ahtisaari would propose conditional independence, but not to mention the word independence.

This document was first handed over to Belgrade, and a few hours later Ahtisaari arrived in Kosovo.

According to Ahtisaari and his team, the aim of a comprehensive proposal for the Kosovo status agreement was to determine the necessary requirements for a future Kosovo that is possible, supported and stabilised.

The plan included detailed measures to ensure the encouragement and protection of communities' rights and their members, effective decentralisation of the government, and preservation and protection of cultural and religious heritage.

Furthermore, the agreement outlined constitutional, economic and security measures, which together aimed to contribute to the development of a multiethnic, democratic and prosperous Kosovo.

An important element of the agreement was the mandate given to the international civilian and military presence in Kosovo to oversee implementation of the Agreement and to assist competent Kosovo authorities in ensuring peace and stability throughout Kosovo.

His plan then enjoyed the support of Kosovo authorities, while it was rejected by the Government of Serbia, which named the proposal harmful because, reportedly, it affects the sovereignty of the Serbian state.

Although the word “independence” was not mentioned in the draft document in question, Kosovo leaders had voiced conviction that “the international procedure for resolving Kosovo's status led by President Ahtisaari would quickly end with Kosovo independence”.

Their conviction would be realised in part more than two weeks after the last summit between Pristina and Belgrade. The mediated Ahtisaari negotiations that started in July 2006 in Vienna wrapped up in that same city on March 10th with the latest meeting between the parties.

On March 26th, Ahtisaari handed the final report and recommendation that Kosovo gain an supervised independence.

President Fatmir Sejdiu and Prime Minister Agim Ceku, who were then leading Kosovo, had named March 26th as a historic day for Kosovo.

Kosovo's “Independence, which initially after the Ahtisaari plan, will have international supervision, will be in the service of peace”, Sejdiu said.

While Ceku- head of the Kosovo executive at the time stressed: “Letra proposes independence for Kosovo supervised in the first phase that is in line with the will of the people of Kosovo”.

Diamettically opposed were the reactions of official Belgrade and those of local Serbs in Kosovo. Their refusal to accept the Ahtisaari plan was supported by Serbian-Russia ally.

The parties' differing views on the Ahtisaari plan led to the sending of a fact-finding United Nations mission to Kosovo, which was tasked with reviewing circumstances for implementing the Ahtisaari plan.

The delegation had started its visit April 27th to complete it with estimates to be presented to the UN Security Council. This mechanism, despite the insistence of supporters of the Ahtisaari plan, failed to find consensus on resolving Kosovo's status.

Russia's main opponent of the plan later vetoed a draft resolution of European members of the Council, Germany and the United States, which was scheduled to replace Security Council Resolution 1244, pave the way for Ahtisaari's entry into force and completion within 120 days of the UN mission in Kosovo.

Unadvanced resulted in Pristina talks conducted by December 2007 under the mediation of “Treshes” internationally made up of American Frank Wisner, German Wolfgang Ischinger and Russian Aleksandar Botsan-Kharchenko.

On February 17th 2008, Kosovo would take over its destiny by declaring (in co-ordination with the international community) itself state.