Envoys from Serbia and Kosovo began a new round of discussion regarding the future status of Serbia’s breakaway province in Vienna on Thursday.

This round of negotiations is held under the mediation of diplomats from Russian, the European Union and United States. Preliminary discussions revealed the same hard-line stance adopted by both sides, Serbia and Kosovo reiterating they are not willing to accept a compromise solution.

Kosovo’s President Fatmir Sejdiu gave a clear signal that discussions will be strenuous and ardent by saying, “We reconfirmed our position that the independence of Kosovo is non-negotiable, nor is Kosovo's territorial integrity.”

His statement comes after the media speculated that Kosovo could be divided in order for Belgrade to accept its independence. The EU’s representative Wolfgang Ischinger reiterated Sejdiu’s idea and said an eventual partition “has never been on the agenda of the troika or raised by either party.”

The meeting is aimed at uniting the two sides and a troika at the negotiation table in order to sort out divergences and reach a consensus as soon as possible. Tensions is reaching dangerous levels among the ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo, the international community fearing a new conflict could erupt if a solution isn’t given.

A potential response to the crisis was given by UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari in January. He proposed an internationally-monitored independence for the province, but the plan struck a firm opposition from Russia.

Moscow announced that it will support Serbia’s cause and therefore blocked the resolution proposed by Ahtisaari. That action sparked the anger of people living in Kosovo, who embraced that idea and said it is the foundation stone for their freedom. That thought is shared by President Sejdiu.

“We have promised that in our forthcoming meetings we will come forward with a written document in which we intend to support our position on independence, and the basis for any kind of negotiations is Ahtisaari’s plan,” he said.

Russia’s refusal to back Ahtisaari’s plan led to new negotiations that are expected to provide an answer by December 10, when Kosovo’s Prime Minister Agim Ceku said independence must be recognized.

“We were clear in saying that at the end of the process on December 10, we expect independence to be recognized,” the premier said.