The Contact Group

In addition to the UN, OSCE and NATO, the principal group of nations that monitors and supervises international policy in Kosovo is the Contact Group. This informal grouping of countries -- including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, and Russia -- first came together in response to the crisis in Bosnia . With observers from the EU and NATO, it now regularly consults on the situation in Kosovo. Comprising four of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council which are also the major contributing nations to KFOR and assistance donors to Kosovo, the Contact Group coordinates Kosovo policy with UNMIK and the Special Envoy. In its "Guiding Principles" for a settlement of the status of Kosovo the Contact Group has stated that any settlement should ensure Kosovo's multi-ethnicity and the protection of the cultural and religious heritage, strengthen regional security and stability, ensure that Kosovo can cooperate effectively with international organizations and international financial institutions, and be acceptable to the people of Kosovo.

The following documents are statements made by the Contact Group as part of the consultative process:

--09/27/07 Statement on Kosovo by Contact Group Ministers
--02/02/07 Joint Contact Group Statement
--09/20/06 Kosovo Contact Group Ministerial Statement
--07/24/06 High-Level Meeting on the Future Status of Kosovo
--01/31/06 Statement by the Contact Group on the Future of Kosovo
--09/20/05 Contact Group Meeting on Kosovo
--02/02/05 Contact Group Plus Statement
--12/16/04 Contact Group Statement
--09/28/04 Contact Group Chairman's Statement
--09/22/04 Contact Group Meeting
--09/03/04 Contact Group Statement
--07/20/04 Contact Group Plus Meeting Press Statement
--06/08/04 Conclusions of the Contact Group Meeting with the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government
--04/20/04 Joint Statement of the Contact Group on Kosovo