Vienna, Austria, Feb 20, SPA -- Long-awaited U.N.-mediated talks onthe future status of Kosovo opened Monday in Vienna, the Associated Press reported. "We want to resolve the status as soon as possible.Independence is coming," said Lutfi Haziri, Kosovo'sminister of local government, who is leading the province'sdelegation. Representatives of Kosovo's ethnic Albaniansand Serb minority sat across from each other at a tabledraped with green cloth inside Vienna's Daun-Kinsky Palace. The process is being mediated by former Finnish PresidentMartti Ahtisaari, who was appointed by the United Nationsto steer the talks toward an agreement, preferably by theend of this year. "Any future settlement is about minority rights andsafety," said Hua Jiang, Ahtisaari's spokeswoman. She saidthe entire process was "about setting up a multi-ethnicsociety in Kosovo." Jiang said the first round of talks will deal with localgovernment reform aimed at enhancing the rights of Serbsand other minorities, since "both sides have a willingnessto tackle it." "We hope it will be a good start," she said. Diplomats from the so-called Contact Group _ the UnitedStates, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia _ havealready agreed on a set of guidelines for Kosovo's future.--SPA 13 31 Local Time 10 31 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/332509