Russia will abstain, ICG president says

Russia will abstain, ICG president says

In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Evans said that UN Kosovo envoy Martti Ahtisaari carefully designed his plan avoiding the word independence, the concept Russia fiercely opposed.

“Even though Vladimir Putin reiterated on several occasions that Russia wouldn’t support any solution Serbia disagrees with, numerous observers, ICG concluded, believe that Russia will eventually abstain from voting. Should Russia make such a move, Ahtisaari’s status proposal may be adopted without obstacles”, Evans said.

According to Evans, such a scenario doesn’t entail formal proclamation of Kosovo’s independence in the UN Security Council, but paves the way towards Kosovo’s statehood by enabling unilateral recognition of Kosovo.

“It’s very important that the international community unanimously regards the concept of Serbia’s sovereignty over Kosovo as a thing of the past. If the EU and the US take a joint stand in the UN SC, other states would find it hard to reject Ahtisaari’s proposal”, Evans said.

The ICG president added that the Un General Assembly was unlikely to recognize Kosovo’s independence.

“Independent Kosovo may happen in the future. Until then Kosovo won’t enjoy full independence even if recognized by certain states, since the international presence will be necessary in the long run”, Evans concluded.

"Kosovo settlement resembles Dayton"

Steven Meyer, professor at the US government's National Defense University and the expert for the Balkans, was quoted as saying that “Should Kosovo become independent, it would be highly decentralized, low functioning state, with no co-operation between ethnic communities. It would resemble Bosnia in that sense”.

In an interview for Voice of America Meyer said he wasn’t sure what would happen in Vienna in light of the firm positions both negotiating parties hold on to. “I find Ahtisaari’s proposal awkward and daring, since it doesn’t mention independence of Kosovo and sovereignty of Serbia, but sets the straight course towards independence”, Meyer argues.

He adds that the document adamantly insists to secure the multiethnic nature of Kosovo, but implying an utterly opposite concept. “Ethnic communities are kept separate and given possibility to maintain relations with foreign entities, which primarily applies to Kosovo Serbs”, he said.

“The situation resembles the Dayton Agreement on which I worked on, in regards to the parallel tracks – separation of ethnic communities and the insisting on a state composed of two entities, Albanian majority and Serbian minority”, Meyer was quoted as saying.

Meyer also underscored the fact that “Ahtisaari’s document and the Dayton Agreement are primarily designed to suit the interests of the international community, rather than the interests of people in the region, which would normally lead to instability and create basis for future conflicts”, Meyer concluded.