Kosova: Independence Likely to Face Delay
While Kosova hoped to achieve independence last Spring, the failure of US and Russian presidents to find an agreement on this matter might postpone such a decision until next year.
Below is an article written by Nicholas Wood and published by the International Herald Tribune:
A senior
The suggestion made Saturday [7 July 2007] by Dan Fried, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European affairs, is very likely to be seen as a setback for Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership, which until recently had been told by American officials that the region's status would be resolved in "weeks and not months."
Western leaders and UN officials have warned that further delays might ignite violence in the province.
Fried was appearing at a conference on NATO enlargement organized by the Croatian government at the seaside resort of
"I can't give a precise date, but I suspect it will be a number of months before the
Fried's comments are the clearest indication to date that the
For the past eight years, the region has been administered by the United Nations, which took over after a 78-day NATO-led bombing campaign forced Serbian security forces to withdraw from the province.
The Serbs were accused of committing widespread atrocities against ethnic Albanians.
With increasing impatience, Kosovo's ethnic Albanian community is seeking independence, but
This month, President George W. Bush and President Vladimir Putin failed to make progress on discussions about possible solutions during a meeting at the Bush family's estate in
But Western officials say the threat of unrest in the province could increase if a solution is not found soon.
On Thursday [5 July 2007], the UN secretary general, Ban Ki Moon, issued a report to the Security Council that stated that if the province's "status remains undefined, there is a real risk that the progress achieved by the United Nations and the provisional institutions in Kosovo can begin to unravel."
And on Friday [6 July 2007], the NATO secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said: "It is important at this moment for all to exercise restraint and calm. But I think on the other hand that we should prevent unnecessary delay in trying to find a solution."
Despite those warnings, the consensus emerging among European and American policy makers is that the status quo will have to remain for many months in the hope that
"We are going to keep on working within the United Nations," Fried said in an interview. "We are not going to be rigid and doctrinaire." Fried was due to meet with ethnic Albanian leaders in Kosovo on Monday.
But the weight of European nations' support for a UN-sanctioned agreement and
"
Western officials also warn that there is only the slightest chance of
"If you think that this is a passing phase in
Eide and other European politicians said the West should use the next year if necessary to find a solution that would get Russian support. As yet, European states are not ready to consider any alternatives.
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt of
But he said "the consequences of going unilateral are quite severe," and that it would be extremely difficult to find unanimous support among EU nations for that position.
But while European states hope for a Russian compromise, Albanian, UN and American officials warn that events in Kosovo may ultimately force the bloc into taking a more resolute stance.
"If the UN resolution does not work out, the Europeans will have to ask themselves how much violence are they prepared to take," a senior Western official said. "Some time, hard decisions will have to be taken by the