What will be the final outcome for the province of Kosovo? Talks between Serbs and Albanians have reached stalemate Sunday as both parties refused to compromise.
Kosovo's Albanian leadership seeks independence for Kosovo, but Serbia is vehemently against it. "Kosovo will never be an independent state, no matter pressures, conditionings and threats Serbia is exposed to," said Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, Beta news agency reported.
Talks are to continue on Oct. 22 in Vienna, and the final deadline for reaching an outcome has been set to Dec. 10. But, with Kosovo squeezed between the Serbs' attachement to the province as a "craddle of religious and national identity"(see Why Kosovo is central to Serb national epic?) and a population almost entirely constituted of Albanians, the future of the province is all but certain.
Albanian authorities in Kosovo have threaten to unilaterally declare independence if a deal isn't reached by the fixed deadline. Dan Bilefsky of the International Herald Tribune believes this would only increase tensions.
"Should Pristina follow through on its threat, such a move would aggravate already growing tensions between Russia, the EU and Washington, undermine the EU's already flailing foreign policy and, worse, potentially plunge the region into civil war."
Will a settlement between Serbs and Albanians ever be reached in this region? And what would be the consequences of an independent Kosovo?
Gaëlle Engelberts
Sunday, October 14, 2007
What's in store for Kosovo?
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2 comments:
Well the people I know in Pristina, thinks upon themselves and their province of Kosova as an independent area and they want their independence as soon as possible.
And I actually think we should make a UN-resolution saying that they have to have their independence and not be suppressed by the Serbs.
But it is very worrying that the Serbs not are very willing to give up this area, and a new war could be moving closer.
/Mikkel
Right now, I believe in partition as the solution. After all, Kosovo has not had such a strong Albanian population for a very long time. If I'm not mistaken, it's really only during the last century that the Albanian population has been expanding so much. Therefore, I do understand Serbian claim to this land. However, I believe compromise is necessary. Serbia's history has been one of losing land in the last decades (I am not forgetting the all the damage it has caused...)- so taking away yet another piece is not a solution to me.
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