March 10 marks 19 years since the conclusion of negotiations on Kosovo’s final status, which ended without an agreement between representatives of Kosovo and Serbia in Vienna in 2007.
The talks, mediated by the United Nations, brought together key political leaders from both sides. Representing Kosovo were then-president Fatmir Sejdiu, Prime Minister Agim Çeku and Assembly Speaker Kolë Berisha.
Serbia was represented by then-president Boris Tadić and Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica.
The negotiations were led by the UN Special Envoy, Finnish diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari.
At the end of the talks on 10 March 2007, Ahtisaari expressed regret that the parties failed to reach a compromise. He announced that the final proposal on Kosovo’s status would be submitted to the United Nations Security Council later that month.
On 15 March 2007, Ahtisaari’s deputy Albert Rohan formally delivered the proposal to the United Nations. The plan—widely known as the Ahtisaari Plan—recommended supervised independence for Kosovo.
Less than a year later, on 17 February 2008, Kosovo officially declared independence, marking a historic milestone in its statehood.
