Kosovo PM urges EU to take Kosovo issue in its own hands

Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said on Wednesday in Tirana that the European Union should take the Kosovo issue into its own hands and solve the problem in a European way.

"We think Kosovo issue is a European issue, a European problem, so the EU should make concrete decisions and must not allow other countries to dictate its policies on its own issues," Ceku said at a press conference with his Albanian counterpart Sali Berisha.

Ceku called the EU to be united and more determined on the Kosovo issue, saying this is the chance for it to show its maturity, bravery and its capabilities to solve problems in the region.

A new round of talks over the final status of the Serbian southern province of Kosovo started last month under the auspices of the troika composed of envoys from the EU, the U.S. and Russia.

The envoys are to report to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon by December 10 on the progress of the talks.

Kosovo has been run by the UN for eight years since mid-1999. Serbia wants to keep it within its border while the ethnic Albanians, who account for 90 percent of the province's 2 million population, ask for full independence.

He said he believed Kosovo independence is the only solution to the problem and that there are no other alternatives.

"The extended 120-day of talks is not anything new, although itis now headed by an international troika. To us, it is the continuation