U.S. Ambassador in Kosovo Christopher Dell has not ruled out the possibility that negotiations on solving the situation in northern Kosovo could start this year, but added that the north could not count on being given special status, Kosovo TV reported on April 10.

Dell said that a serious review of the situation in northern Kosovo would almost definitely be conducted before elections were held in Kosovo. Still, he said, this hinges on when a cabinet will be created in Serbia following elections in May.

The U.S. ambassador ruled out the possibility of giving the north, which is predominantly inhabited by Serbs, special status or any kind of autonomy, as a solution to the problem.

Neither the Kosovo government nor the U.S. want this. The only thing that can happen is that negotiations can be held between the Kosovo government and citizens in the north on the conditions that govern their daily lives, so that they feel better living in the republic of Kosovo, he said.