George Bush, “friend-in-chief” of Kosovo
New York. Kosovo has a new friend: George Bush. The U.S. president spent his last few days in Europe promoting the idea of an independent Kosovo. With his poll numbers low at home, Mr Bush made sure he would be remembered by an enthusiastic Albanian crowd. During his visit in Tirana on Sunday June 10 2007, the president said what people there wanted to hear. He called for an independent Kosovo and for an end to the delays in the UN talks. The following day, Mr Bush insisted in Sofia the province should be independent. He also said the U.S would push for a UN resolution but did not make any commitment. In May 2005, Switzerland was among the nations calling for an independent Kosovo in a speech in the UN Security Council. Since then, Kosovo has remained a divisive issue. On one side, the European Union (EU) and the United States support an independent Kosovo. On the other, Serbia and Russia reject these calls. Moscow has threatened in the past to veto a UN resolution on the matter. George Bush countered this weekend and said that the “time is up”, urging Russia to join the US and EU in order to find a solution for Kosovo. According to a European official from a country involved in the talks about the status of Kosovo, Mr Bush’s remarks will probably not have an impact on future negotiations. “Russia’s position hasn’t changed, she said. Moscow would still veto a UN resolution calling for an independent Kosovo. But it is time to act and we need to find a compromise. We should not paint it black either because all the countries involved in the talks believe that we need to find a solution for Kosovo”. Another European diplomat played down Mr Bush’s remarks. He said that talks are under way at the UN to try to find ways to ease Kosovo’s transition toward independence. But he also said that Washington and Moscow had to find solutions on more pressing issues than the situation in Kosovo. According to Martin Sletzinger, director of East European Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, Mr. Bush did not mention Kosovo specifically to provoke Vladimir Putin. “He was told by his staff what Albanians would love to hear and did not care much about what Serbia and Russia would think about it, the researcher said in an interview. On the other hand, it will also put Russia under more pressure at the UN. The White House also knows that such statements about Kosovo will please the Albanian lobby in States like Illinois, Michigan and New York”. Jean-Cosme Delaloye A French version of this story was published on June 10 2007 in 24heures and Tribune de Genève. CommentsYou must be logged in to post a comment. |
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