"Serbia wants Taiwanization of Kosovo"

"Serbia wants Taiwanization of Kosovo"

“Whether Serbia will recognize Kosovo's independence or not, that is more of an internal problem of political relations within Serbia,” Haxhiu said.
He said that it is good that the international community will have the final word in defining the province's status.

“The international community has invested too much of its authority in the region to have it return to our recent model of 'communication,' which was war and disdain,” Haxhiu said.

He said that there will be no organized violence in Kosovo, but that the fact that its status is still undefined fuels extremists, who are more comfortable in a situation where there are “weapons, crime and murky waters.”

He said that within Kosovo's independence, Serbs living in the province will have “widespread, personal autonomy.”

“If Kosovo is independent, Serbs will live better than if the status becomes some sort of confederation of Kosovo and Serbia, or even worse, the status quo. No one will take care of the Serbs better than the Albanians. Not because some kind of neighborly love has sprouted, but because of clear interests,” Haxhiu said.

He explained that Kosovo Albanians will have to treat the Kosovo Serbs as "tender precious" for decades to come because they will be "watched closely" by the international community.

Serwer: Partition should be considered

Daniel Serwer, vice president of the government-funded U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, says the “direct talks between Belgrade and Priština are an excellent idea, as is the resolve of the Contact Group to exert additional pressure on both negotiating teams.”

“However, I have no high hopes that the new round of negotiations would result in a historic breakthrough,” he said.

“Talks should continue, though, personally, I see no reason for that at this stage, given that negotiaons have been brought about by a failure of the Kosovo debate at the UN, rather by a genuine need for them,” Serwer said.

In his opinion, it would be much better to reach a status solution at the Security Council, and not by employing unilateral recognition.

“The UN decision can secure political and military presence of the international community in the province,” Serwer stressed, adding that the sovereignty of Kosovo would thus be limited, “which is in Serbia’s interest.”

“On the other hand, if Belgrade and Moscow continue to block a UN resolution, my guess is that the U.S. and certain European states will recognize independence.”

Speaking of the partition of the province, Serwer said his opinion differed from that of the international community.

“Serbia and Belgrade should discuss this option,” he stressed, adding that the problem with that concept was in Serbia's rejection to agree to any land swaps.

“Belgrade would want northern Kosovo and refuse to make concessions and give away the Preševo Valley in return,” Serwer explained.