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Serbian PM sez Bush can't give Kosovo away
Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica on Monday sharply criticised United States president George W. Bush for supporting independence of Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province, saying he can't give away what does not belong to him. "America has the right to support other states and peoples in accordance with its interests, but not by giving away as a gift something that isnt its property," Kostunica told journalists in Belgrade."America must find another way of expressing its sympathies and love towards Albanians, instead of handing them Serbian territories," he added. Kostunica said Serbia would never give up Kosovo and warned that the US has made "enough mistakes for the past and this century by bombing Serbia. A new mistake in the form of Kosovo's independence would be another injustice and display of force which the Serbian people would not forget," he added. During a visit to Albania on Sunday, Bush said the US supported independence for Kosovo, as demanded by most of its 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority, and urged other countries to do the same. "At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you've got to say enough is enough, Kosovo is independent," he told a news conference in Tirana. Most western countries support Kosovo's independence, but a plan by the chief United Nations negotiator Martti Ahtisaari has run into trouble in the UN Security Council because Russia has threatened to use its veto power to block the move, unless Serbs agreed to it. Kosovo has been under UN control since 1999, after NATO bombing pushed Serbian forces out of the province amid reports of gross human rights violations and a mass exodus of ethnic Albanians. Belgrade remains staunchly opposed to independence, but the Kosovar government last week invited Kosovars to come up with designs for new state symbols. Bush said in Tirana he was "worried about (ethnic Albanians) expectations not being met" because of Russian opposition. Kostunica flew to Saint Petersburg on Saturday to get reassurances from Russian president Vladimir Putin that Moscows position has remained unchanged. Once again the identical stands of Serbia and Russia regarding Kosovo has been confirmed, Kostunica said after the meeting. Bush is expected to try to soften Russian position at a meeting with Putin next month, but Kosovo Albanian language media hailed Bushs remarks as a guarantee for Kosovo's independence. Prime minister Agim Ceku called on ethnic Albanians to remain calm, saying time was on their side. "In a way, Bush has proclaimed Kosovo's independence, he said. The only realistic, pragmatic and possible solution is Kosovo's independence and the time for such a decision has come, Ceku added. In contrast to the jublilation in Pristina, Serbian press and political analysts agreed there was nothing new in Bush's Tirana speech, because the American position on Kosovo has been known for some time. Apart from "pleasing Albanian ears," Bushs statement was viewed in Belgrade as an act of desperation because things were not moving as smoothly as expected and upping of the pressure on Moscow to change its position. Posted by: Seafarious 2007-06-12 |
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