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EU calls for speedy investigation of deadly Kosovo blast

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BRUSSELS, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - The European Union is urging a speedy investigation of the deadly attack in the centre of Kosovo's capital, Pristina, early Monday, an EU spokeswoman said.

A bomb explosion struck a shopping area on Bill Clinton Boulevard at 2:10 am (12:10 a.m. GMT), killing two people and injuring at least 11.

The attack comes just a few days prior to Friday's direct talks between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on the status of the troubled province. The discussions are set to take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Kosovo has been a UN protectorate since NATO's 78-day bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia ended a conflict between Serb forces and Muslim Albanian separatists in 1999. The province has been striving for independence from Serbia ever since.

Though negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina, mediated by the so-called troika of Russia, the EU and the United States, have yet to make progress, the UN has set December 10, 2007 as a deadline for the negotiations.

The United States has made it clear that it will recognize Kosovo's independence after this date.

Meanwhile, Moscow, a staunch ally of Belgrade, believes that granting Kosovo sovereignty would violate Serbia's territorial integrity and set a precedent for other breakaway regions, including those of the former Soviet Union.

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