The Serbian and Kosovo officials took part at a conference on Sunday, regarding Kosovo’s future status, deciding to meet again as soon as possible.

The discussions took place under the auspices of the three-party mediating "troika" composed of the European Union, the United States and Russia.

"Belgrade further described its proposal of autonomy for Kosovo within Serbia. Pristina elaborated its proposal of friendship and cooperation between two independent states and full implementation of minority rights. Both parties asked questions and responded to each others' proposals," the troika said in a statement.

The next conference was set to be in Vienna on October 22, both parties reaffirming their intention to "refrain from any provocative acts or statements that might jeopardize the security and stability of the region". Although the general impression was that the parties are willing to negotiate, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica earlier Sunday stated that Kosovo "will never be independent".

"Kosovo could become independent only if Serbia recognized it or if the United Nations Security Council violates the UN Charter," Kostunica told a convention of his Democratic Party of Serbia. "The whole world knows well that neither Serbia would ever recognize Kosovo's independence, nor would the UN Security Council violate the UN Charter," Kostunica said. "That means Kosovo will never be a UN member state."

About 100,000 Serbs live in Kosovo, a province of 2 million people which has been under UN administration since 1999, when NATO drove out Serbian security forces accused of repressing ethnic Albanians.