Former U.S. diplomat and UN peacekeeper in Kosovo Gerard Gallucci thinks Kosovo needs a new political solution, which the international community should find together with Belgrade.

A group made up of U.S., UK, German, Italian, French and Russian representatives should work with the Serbian authorities to find a political way out, which would recognize Kosovo's independence as a fact while acknowledging Serbian interests, including economy, trade, religion and the Serbian-majority north, Gallucci noted in his text on www.transconflict.com.

Kosovo is currently a mess, which makes it too simplified to just say that the U.S. and EU efforts to get desired results have failed, Gallucci remarked.

"The real issue is now how to move forward with a Kosovo that is not only incomplete but likely to remain so indefinitely without a political settlement both sides will accept and without continued international tutelage for many years to come," he notes.

There seems to be no other way for the international community to reach a political solution but by working together with Belgrade, he argues.

According to Gallucci, "the Kosovo Albanians cannot keep up their end in any genuine negotiation as long as they pursue their maximalist claim to all of Kosovo on their terms."

"They would have to be strongly constrained during any negotiations from seeking to provoke instability within Kosovo or the region as a 'bargaining chip,'" he concludes.