Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari is seeking a compromise between Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority, who want independence, and Serbia, which wants to keep the province within its borders.
Ahtisaari told a news conference in Belgrade that he hoped to get the two sides together for talks early next year.
He did not set a deadline on how long the talks would last. He warned they will be "extremely difficult," a view echoed today by Serbian President Boris Tadic.
Ahtisaari is on a tour of the region, including Kosovo and Serbia, Albania and Macedonia. From Belgrade, Ahtisaari travels to the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica.
(AP)