Putin: Imposed solution unacceptable

wow! wow! very sobering words for chancellor merkel i am sure (and her puppet masters in the us state dept). i am sure mr. putin also delivered the message of expected serb belligerance to her. this elevates the game to the next level. lets see if the attack dogs back down. it seems to me they will now seek to offer sebia everything under the sun... just to "let it go."

that damned piece of paper from 1919 must be giving them hemmorhoids. god bless woodrow wilson!

of course sidi, ????, nick and others will respond that this means nothing. and that putin will be managed. i don't think that he has gione to this extreme to personally call the chancellor and then put it out in the media. thisis very sobering news for the proponents of indep!

since it is impossible to do nothing... we will have a watered down status decision that gives albanians enough room to try and make a viable economy... and serbia retaining her sovreignty over kosovo (spelled with an "o" at the end... not an "a"). it is only common sense that the proposal will be watered down and not accepted as presented.

The Russian bear is coming out of hibernation.It seems like Germany cares more about its billions of euros in foreign trade with Russia than with the Kosovo issue.From Germans I have communicated with they subtley still stick to the notion that the Balkans are not worth the life of one Pomeranian/German soldier.If I am not mistaken I think it was Bismarck who originally made this remark but I may be wrong considering I am an economist and not a historian.Putin is really going to be the last czar but you must give him credit.He would be Machiavelli's BEST student.He even put Gerhard Shroeder on the board of directors of Gazprom and is developing a strategic/economic alliance between Germany and Russsia that will be very important for the greater European equation than this little Kosovo issue.Russia is a country with 140 million people and Germany is second with 80m and with the number one and number two economies in Europe.You Balkan people should not overestimate your importance in the grand scheme of things.Big power politics use little issues to negotiate better deals.Having said this I implore you all to think about WHO actually has the money to finance Kosovo because once this Waiting For Godot farce passes the people of Kosovo are going to demand a LA DOLCE VITA.

what I find very interesting...

is the fact, that in the tv-news I have just watched half an hour ago, ...they mentioned russian-energy-transportation via the "Дружба" pipeline, the middle east conflict, BUT there was not even ONE WORD about Kosovo...although it will have been very very likely on the desk today...

remember that is on the very same day, the parliament-elections in Serbia are taking place...

whoever thinks that this does not mean anything is just lying himself...
very interesting indeed.

Blag,

We all take the Russian veto threat seriously. However, Dardania will be independent no matter what Putin says. This will all boil down to 2 more weeks of negociations. Serbian position will not change. Dardanians might offer 2 more Serb municipalities, but will insist on independence. If Russia vetoes after two weeks negociations, then, Dardanians will legitimately hold a referendum and unilateral declaration of independence will be accepted by all those who are tired of Putins old style KGB games.


Remember, 100 % of Dardanians will accept nothing but independence even if it takes a century to achieve it.


That Dardania remains a province of Serbia is your personal wishful thinking. Even if Dardania continues statusless and supervised by EU for another 7 years, the number of Serbs in Dardania will shrink to less than 2%, and all this political maneuvring of taday will be senseless then.

So, you are in a loosing position whichever way you analyze it.

luciano hits the nail right on the head. absolutely correct. but luciano... remember there is still that damned piece of paper that serbia holds that creates an unfortunate reality for pristina.

The irony of it all will be that Russia will be among the countries who will impose the solution. This is what happened in 1999. Russia was opposing military action to stop the genocide in Kosovo, and yet the intervention happened with Russian approval.

xhafer: unilateral declaration outside of the security council means MESSY independence (partition of north; lack of diplomatic recognition by many states; economic blockade; prolonged legal challenge).

as for our continuing presence.... the serbs from the south of kosovo will move north of the ibar and the partition will be de facto. neither will you be able to stop this. serbia can do what it needs to do... but you will always require the permission of an EU administrator. let me remind you that this also means the loss of trepca.

if this happens you will also earn serbia's belligerance and complete and total isolation (diplomatic, economic, political, social, and cultural). be careful what you wish for... you may end up choking on your independence.

your analysis is based upon fantasy. the name of the province is kosovo spelled with an "o" at the end. dardania does not exist.

is this another threat?
*snore*

you won´t stop threatning, right?
but that´s just the silliest thing you can do at all.
since my non-serbian friends are following this, they have changed their opinion in regard to the kosovo-question just in 180 degrees...

you are really not acting sound and reasonable...

and plaese do not degrade yourself on and on by reiterating this foolish dardania-myths...

you are not the descendants of the Illyrians...even if you repeat it a thousand times again...

Whichever direction the status issue plays out Russia will be a winner.If it agrees NOT to make too much noise about the Kosovo issue then it will be rewarded by NON-interference by Europe in the Chechnya issue or even the WTO issue.And it will use the Kosovo precedent to promote its territorial agendas closer to home in areas where Russians actually live.If it is sincere about the territorial integrity of Serbia then no independence will be granted by the rest of Europe.Anybody who thinks Russia is NOT more important to the future of Europe than 6 million Albanians needs a reality check whether you look at it from a German or Spanish or pan -European perspective.Therer is no doubt in the mind of any economist that Russia is going to be an economic powerhouse very shortly regardless of the little negative stories you hear about Russia having a problem with this or that.

Luciano,

your right about Russia - it is in a win-win position for it's own best interest. That is fine and commendable and I don't doubt that the Serbian leadership is only too aware of that. But as I mentioned before the dark horse that few mention is China. If Russia got it's precedent option then this might invoke the Chinese to veto as they have been generally muted but have a real issue with precedents that might affect them. The US are in a no-win cul-de-sac; Kosovo & Metohija is not a precedent - Russia veto, Kosovo & Metohija is a precedent - China veto. I think Russia knows this and I don't for one minute doubt the Russian's didn't have a hand in guiding the Serbian leadership to it's stance over the last year.

China on the other hand has seen even better economic growth and despite the US protestations that China re-value it's currency and rebalance the trade deficit the US are in an economic no-win scenario vis-avis China given it's over-inflated deficit and the fact that any sudden upward swing in inflation (much of the chinese imports have aided lower US inflation recently) will bring on a greater response in interest rates and possibly cause a recession. Betond that the US is extremly dependent on Chinese diplomacy regading N.Korea. Therfore the US currently have an economic and political dilema - throw in the military angle given China's recent new way of decomissioning it's old satelites and I think there is another contender that balances the beligerance of the US.

Lets just see what happens in the next few weeks but I guess there is many months of negotiations - firstly the formation of a new Serbian Govt and then the real talks. Having seen the exit poll I am confident that the new Serbian Govt. will reiterate its principled stance - looks good all round and I guess the lynch-pin will be Kostunica's DSS-NS - looks like worst case scenario for US - a democratic govt who vehemently oppose and will never sign away Kosovo & Metohija.

To Blag, Princip, etc.

If you check the world map you will see that Russia is in Asia not Europe. If it was , the Russia would be in the E.U.,being the "economic powerhouse" that you claim it to be.

Asiatic Russia is not part of the sphere of influence for Europe. Therefore, any Russian opinions about Kosova will summarily ignored.

The only country that matters concerning the Idependence of Kosova is the U.S.A. You should have learned this from the 1999 Humanitarian war that you lost.

The US is in a no win situation with this Kosovo issue.It will be damned if it does and damned if it doesn't.China may be more concerned with the one TRILLION dollars it holds in its reserves.The US it can be argued is a colony of China considering our HUGE trade imbalance with that country and the amount of US debt they hold in their hands.The US and China need each other to a much larger degree than any one issue and I do not foresee severe consequences regarding the status outcome of Kosovo between the US and China.There are much larger issues as you have correctly pointed out between our 2 economic houses.

hahahaha. arben you crack me up. asiatic russia is most certainly a european country and most certainly comprised of european peoples. the foreigner in all this is the american govt which is in an entirely different hemisphere. hmmmm? maybe russians are the real illyrians/ dardanians?

Arben Qosja

*applauses*
Great logic Arben, Russia, wich has a part of its territory in Europe has no voice on the matter, but Usa wich has the entire Atlantic sea inbetween does...

With your skills, you should really be a polititian. ;)

Blag, Jovan, Luciano,

Your arguments are absurd.

You can't force 2 million people to live with you especially when guys like Jovan have no regard on their identity and cultural heritage. The tragedy is that guys like Jovan really have nothing to show in terms of intellectual evidence but the old fashion slogan "KOCOBO JE CPCKA" And that is the type of posionous ignorance that we are not willing to live with.

Please, Give us some evidence? Tell us that Constantin the Great was Serb? Or find any Serbian hero serving for the Great empire of Rome. The fact is that Serbia has been an occupier since 9th century and continues the same trend in 21st century. Honestly, if you are stuck with Serbian historical text books, I am willing to send you some literature for free. Like that you can reeducate yourself on the origins of Ballkan people.

We Albanians don't know any other place we come from but Ballkans. Can you please tell us where do we come from since you appear to know better than us?

Blag, "Albanians don't want to live with Serbia." So tell them how is Serbia going to force them back into a uinon that they resent so much because of the bloody wars?

All your predictions could have made some sense if we had something in commun, but we have as much in commun with Serbs as Serbs had with the nazies during the second world war. So, please, make us love Serbia first, if you achieve that, then there is some possibility of a union. Until then, you are just wasting your time.

Luciano, its Italian name. If I am right, then, you are an Italian who calls Kosova (Which is correct in Italian), Kosovo i Metohia. Who are you kidding sir. Only a name doesn't make you an Italian. Most of the Italians I know they love America even when its wrong. Here you are threatening with Russian veto. What are Italians getting for preserving Serbia's artificial territorial integrity.

Cheers

She is refering to "spheres of influence". To all the USA doom and gloom conspiracy theorists- debt is meaningless- this is a complex concept that I do not have the time to explain to you. Eu expansion is inevitable and Kosova as well as serbia will be colonized by the EU (read Germany and France). Russia is in fact not a european power, not in the geographical sense but the political. Welcome to franco-german tutelage. The albanians would rather be franco-german lap dogs than subserviant to the sarmatians.

I watched Putin and Merkel meeting today. Putin is great. His dog is also a lot of fun. Russia has the every right to sell its goods at market prices. Period. Enough of double standards.

RE: What is the US national interest in Kosovo?

We have heard comments on why Russia would oppose Kosovo independance, but it is not clear why the US would support it. The view of appeasment to the so called "muslim" world is not the only reason.

There is no political will in the United States for any unilateral independance proposed by Kosovar Albanians, in fact, very little will in Europe also. The final status will be a battle in the UN and Russia cannot be sold so easily given the minority nations that currently are under the sovereignty of Russia with vast economic resources. Ukraine tried to break away but is so economically dependant to Russia , she can't. So to is Kosovo economically dependant to Serbia and the Balkans.

Any UN resolution to alter 1244 will have to have Belgrade's agreement, like it or not. Given the elections, that may prove to be difficult as Kostunica will probably be the Prime Minister again and his platform was firmly against outright independance.

Partition was the best solution for Kosovo and was proposed by Belgrade. The US and Europe may be more open to this solution given Russia's stance.

Common Serbia wake up.

Move West. Don't listen to the Eastern Sirens.

It's the time of courageous people. Take your medicine, leave Kosova go and win your future.

Ah, I know, it's stronger than you. It's fate... you chose the Olive Tree. Somehow we did it too.

However, as an old saying goes: Be careful what you wish for!

I recently heard Milan Protic , former mayor of Belgrade 2001, speak. He is one of the most western thinking Serbs in the public eye, but left politics because of the continued stagnation in Serbian politics.

He is a very couragous man who is not afraid to speak the truth. In one of the statements he made, he said that most Serb politicians waste too much time discussing Kosova. Protic believes that Kosova will get independence very soon and and the decision is totally out of the hands of Serbia.

Hey Blag. FYI ‘Trepca’ is located in southern Mirovica, precisely in Stari Trg. I would advice you to buy an original Kosova map.

to the commentator Xhafer:

it is just one of the obvious differences between Serbs and Albanians that the first do not fabricate some connections to any ancient poeples who have no connection to the present population whatsoever, while the latter constantly try to construct such a connection, even if no non-albanian scientist would agree to that "myth".
so please, dear Xhafer, just tell me who is actually living in past centuries and indulging in myths? can you dig it?
Serbs do not have to do that since they have a national identity of their own...

reading some non-albanian history books could be of help.

Trepca is a conglomerate of some 40 mines and factories,
mostly but not all in Kosovo, notably including Stari Trg, and the Zvecan smelter, located northwest of Mitrovica.

Remember that Trepca can survive without Zvecan smelter.

no it can't. b/c to build a new one presumes you can pay for it via heightened export activity. and you will not be permitted to export to the danube.

Blag,
I don't think you know what you are talking about; as a matter of fact, I'm sure you don't know.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe you have ever been to Kosova or Serbia. If you had then you would know that the average Serb earns about $250 per month. Serbia will never boycott Kosova, no serb that wants to eat would go along with such a ridiculous idea. The Danube would be available for shipping 24hr/day. You're forgeting one important fact: Serbia is poor! No gov't in their right mind would interfere with its ctizens ability to put food on the table for their family.
Perhaps your daddy pays for your room and board so that you can inflate your ego by playing hotshot economist on B-92, but most people work for a living.

arben, you expect to humiliate serbia... and then expect it to be nice to you? it will most definitely NOT recognize you diplomatically which means: blockage of your exports or restrictive tariffs.

serbia's economic position has reversed 180 degrees since this time last yr (read other articles on this site; not just the kosovo articles). or just google it yourself (don't listen to me).

serbia needs kosovo to "put food on its table" is a statement not based in reality.

yes, my daddy paid a lot of money for me to go to school and learn the things i write about.

do not be angry at me for pointing out the obvious. look at a map. look at where the mountains lay. look for the major roads and where they go. look at the railways and where they lead. look at the rivers big enough for transport and where they flow. look at the populations who need what you sell and where they reside. calculate the size of each market and then calculate the distance in kilometers. you will see all roads lead thru serbia.

wow! wow! very sobering words for chancellor merkel i am sure (and her puppet masters in the us state dept). i am sure mr. putin also delivered the message of expected serb belligerance to her. this elevates the game to the next level. lets see if the attack dogs back down. it seems to me they will now seek to offer sebia everything under the sun... just to "let it go."

that damned piece of paper from 1919 must be giving them hemmorhoids. god bless woodrow wilson!

of course sidi, ????, nick and others will respond that this means nothing. and that putin will be managed. i don't think that he has gione to this extreme to personally call the chancellor and then put it out in the media. thisis very sobering news for the proponents of indep!

since it is impossible to do nothing... we will have a watered down status decision that gives albanians enough room to try and make a viable economy... and serbia retaining her sovreignty over kosovo (spelled with an "o" at the end... not an "a"). it is only common sense that the proposal will be watered down and not accepted as presented.

The Russian bear is coming out of hibernation.It seems like Germany cares more about its billions of euros in foreign trade with Russia than with the Kosovo issue.From Germans I have communicated with they subtley still stick to the notion that the Balkans are not worth the life of one Pomeranian/German soldier.If I am not mistaken I think it was Bismarck who originally made this remark but I may be wrong considering I am an economist and not a historian.Putin is really going to be the last czar but you must give him credit.He would be Machiavelli's BEST student.He even put Gerhard Shroeder on the board of directors of Gazprom and is developing a strategic/economic alliance between Germany and Russsia that will be very important for the greater European equation than this little Kosovo issue.Russia is a country with 140 million people and Germany is second with 80m and with the number one and number two economies in Europe.You Balkan people should not overestimate your importance in the grand scheme of things.Big power politics use little issues to negotiate better deals.Having said this I implore you all to think about WHO actually has the money to finance Kosovo because once this Waiting For Godot farce passes the people of Kosovo are going to demand a LA DOLCE VITA.

what I find very interesting...

is the fact, that in the tv-news I have just watched half an hour ago, ...they mentioned russian-energy-transportation via the "Дружба" pipeline, the middle east conflict, BUT there was not even ONE WORD about Kosovo...although it will have been very very likely on the desk today...

remember that is on the very same day, the parliament-elections in Serbia are taking place...

whoever thinks that this does not mean anything is just lying himself...
very interesting indeed.

Blag,

We all take the Russian veto threat seriously. However, Dardania will be independent no matter what Putin says. This will all boil down to 2 more weeks of negociations. Serbian position will not change. Dardanians might offer 2 more Serb municipalities, but will insist on independence. If Russia vetoes after two weeks negociations, then, Dardanians will legitimately hold a referendum and unilateral declaration of independence will be accepted by all those who are tired of Putins old style KGB games.


Remember, 100 % of Dardanians will accept nothing but independence even if it takes a century to achieve it.


That Dardania remains a province of Serbia is your personal wishful thinking. Even if Dardania continues statusless and supervised by EU for another 7 years, the number of Serbs in Dardania will shrink to less than 2%, and all this political maneuvring of taday will be senseless then.

So, you are in a loosing position whichever way you analyze it.

luciano hits the nail right on the head. absolutely correct. but luciano... remember there is still that damned piece of paper that serbia holds that creates an unfortunate reality for pristina.

The irony of it all will be that Russia will be among the countries who will impose the solution. This is what happened in 1999. Russia was opposing military action to stop the genocide in Kosovo, and yet the intervention happened with Russian approval.

xhafer: unilateral declaration outside of the security council means MESSY independence (partition of north; lack of diplomatic recognition by many states; economic blockade; prolonged legal challenge).

as for our continuing presence.... the serbs from the south of kosovo will move north of the ibar and the partition will be de facto. neither will you be able to stop this. serbia can do what it needs to do... but you will always require the permission of an EU administrator. let me remind you that this also means the loss of trepca.

if this happens you will also earn serbia's belligerance and complete and total isolation (diplomatic, economic, political, social, and cultural). be careful what you wish for... you may end up choking on your independence.

your analysis is based upon fantasy. the name of the province is kosovo spelled with an "o" at the end. dardania does not exist.

is this another threat?
*snore*

you won´t stop threatning, right?
but that´s just the silliest thing you can do at all.
since my non-serbian friends are following this, they have changed their opinion in regard to the kosovo-question just in 180 degrees...

you are really not acting sound and reasonable...

and plaese do not degrade yourself on and on by reiterating this foolish dardania-myths...

you are not the descendants of the Illyrians...even if you repeat it a thousand times again...

Whichever direction the status issue plays out Russia will be a winner.If it agrees NOT to make too much noise about the Kosovo issue then it will be rewarded by NON-interference by Europe in the Chechnya issue or even the WTO issue.And it will use the Kosovo precedent to promote its territorial agendas closer to home in areas where Russians actually live.If it is sincere about the territorial integrity of Serbia then no independence will be granted by the rest of Europe.Anybody who thinks Russia is NOT more important to the future of Europe than 6 million Albanians needs a reality check whether you look at it from a German or Spanish or pan -European perspective.Therer is no doubt in the mind of any economist that Russia is going to be an economic powerhouse very shortly regardless of the little negative stories you hear about Russia having a problem with this or that.

Luciano,

your right about Russia - it is in a win-win position for it's own best interest. That is fine and commendable and I don't doubt that the Serbian leadership is only too aware of that. But as I mentioned before the dark horse that few mention is China. If Russia got it's precedent option then this might invoke the Chinese to veto as they have been generally muted but have a real issue with precedents that might affect them. The US are in a no-win cul-de-sac; Kosovo & Metohija is not a precedent - Russia veto, Kosovo & Metohija is a precedent - China veto. I think Russia knows this and I don't for one minute doubt the Russian's didn't have a hand in guiding the Serbian leadership to it's stance over the last year.

China on the other hand has seen even better economic growth and despite the US protestations that China re-value it's currency and rebalance the trade deficit the US are in an economic no-win scenario vis-avis China given it's over-inflated deficit and the fact that any sudden upward swing in inflation (much of the chinese imports have aided lower US inflation recently) will bring on a greater response in interest rates and possibly cause a recession. Betond that the US is extremly dependent on Chinese diplomacy regading N.Korea. Therfore the US currently have an economic and political dilema - throw in the military angle given China's recent new way of decomissioning it's old satelites and I think there is another contender that balances the beligerance of the US.

Lets just see what happens in the next few weeks but I guess there is many months of negotiations - firstly the formation of a new Serbian Govt and then the real talks. Having seen the exit poll I am confident that the new Serbian Govt. will reiterate its principled stance - looks good all round and I guess the lynch-pin will be Kostunica's DSS-NS - looks like worst case scenario for US - a democratic govt who vehemently oppose and will never sign away Kosovo & Metohija.

To Blag, Princip, etc.

If you check the world map you will see that Russia is in Asia not Europe. If it was , the Russia would be in the E.U.,being the "economic powerhouse" that you claim it to be.

Asiatic Russia is not part of the sphere of influence for Europe. Therefore, any Russian opinions about Kosova will summarily ignored.

The only country that matters concerning the Idependence of Kosova is the U.S.A. You should have learned this from the 1999 Humanitarian war that you lost.

The US is in a no win situation with this Kosovo issue.It will be damned if it does and damned if it doesn't.China may be more concerned with the one TRILLION dollars it holds in its reserves.The US it can be argued is a colony of China considering our HUGE trade imbalance with that country and the amount of US debt they hold in their hands.The US and China need each other to a much larger degree than any one issue and I do not foresee severe consequences regarding the status outcome of Kosovo between the US and China.There are much larger issues as you have correctly pointed out between our 2 economic houses.

hahahaha. arben you crack me up. asiatic russia is most certainly a european country and most certainly comprised of european peoples. the foreigner in all this is the american govt which is in an entirely different hemisphere. hmmmm? maybe russians are the real illyrians/ dardanians?

Arben Qosja

*applauses*
Great logic Arben, Russia, wich has a part of its territory in Europe has no voice on the matter, but Usa wich has the entire Atlantic sea inbetween does...

With your skills, you should really be a polititian. ;)

Blag, Jovan, Luciano,

Your arguments are absurd.

You can't force 2 million people to live with you especially when guys like Jovan have no regard on their identity and cultural heritage. The tragedy is that guys like Jovan really have nothing to show in terms of intellectual evidence but the old fashion slogan "KOCOBO JE CPCKA" And that is the type of posionous ignorance that we are not willing to live with.

Please, Give us some evidence? Tell us that Constantin the Great was Serb? Or find any Serbian hero serving for the Great empire of Rome. The fact is that Serbia has been an occupier since 9th century and continues the same trend in 21st century. Honestly, if you are stuck with Serbian historical text books, I am willing to send you some literature for free. Like that you can reeducate yourself on the origins of Ballkan people.

We Albanians don't know any other place we come from but Ballkans. Can you please tell us where do we come from since you appear to know better than us?

Blag, "Albanians don't want to live with Serbia." So tell them how is Serbia going to force them back into a uinon that they resent so much because of the bloody wars?

All your predictions could have made some sense if we had something in commun, but we have as much in commun with Serbs as Serbs had with the nazies during the second world war. So, please, make us love Serbia first, if you achieve that, then there is some possibility of a union. Until then, you are just wasting your time.

Luciano, its Italian name. If I am right, then, you are an Italian who calls Kosova (Which is correct in Italian), Kosovo i Metohia. Who are you kidding sir. Only a name doesn't make you an Italian. Most of the Italians I know they love America even when its wrong. Here you are threatening with Russian veto. What are Italians getting for preserving Serbia's artificial territorial integrity.

Cheers

She is refering to "spheres of influence". To all the USA doom and gloom conspiracy theorists- debt is meaningless- this is a complex concept that I do not have the time to explain to you. Eu expansion is inevitable and Kosova as well as serbia will be colonized by the EU (read Germany and France). Russia is in fact not a european power, not in the geographical sense but the political. Welcome to franco-german tutelage. The albanians would rather be franco-german lap dogs than subserviant to the sarmatians.

I watched Putin and Merkel meeting today. Putin is great. His dog is also a lot of fun. Russia has the every right to sell its goods at market prices. Period. Enough of double standards.

RE: What is the US national interest in Kosovo?

We have heard comments on why Russia would oppose Kosovo independance, but it is not clear why the US would support it. The view of appeasment to the so called "muslim" world is not the only reason.

There is no political will in the United States for any unilateral independance proposed by Kosovar Albanians, in fact, very little will in Europe also. The final status will be a battle in the UN and Russia cannot be sold so easily given the minority nations that currently are under the sovereignty of Russia with vast economic resources. Ukraine tried to break away but is so economically dependant to Russia , she can't. So to is Kosovo economically dependant to Serbia and the Balkans.

Any UN resolution to alter 1244 will have to have Belgrade's agreement, like it or not. Given the elections, that may prove to be difficult as Kostunica will probably be the Prime Minister again and his platform was firmly against outright independance.

Partition was the best solution for Kosovo and was proposed by Belgrade. The US and Europe may be more open to this solution given Russia's stance.

Common Serbia wake up.

Move West. Don't listen to the Eastern Sirens.

It's the time of courageous people. Take your medicine, leave Kosova go and win your future.

Ah, I know, it's stronger than you. It's fate... you chose the Olive Tree. Somehow we did it too.

However, as an old saying goes: Be careful what you wish for!

I recently heard Milan Protic , former mayor of Belgrade 2001, speak. He is one of the most western thinking Serbs in the public eye, but left politics because of the continued stagnation in Serbian politics.

He is a very couragous man who is not afraid to speak the truth. In one of the statements he made, he said that most Serb politicians waste too much time discussing Kosova. Protic believes that Kosova will get independence very soon and and the decision is totally out of the hands of Serbia.

Hey Blag. FYI ‘Trepca’ is located in southern Mirovica, precisely in Stari Trg. I would advice you to buy an original Kosova map.

to the commentator Xhafer:

it is just one of the obvious differences between Serbs and Albanians that the first do not fabricate some connections to any ancient poeples who have no connection to the present population whatsoever, while the latter constantly try to construct such a connection, even if no non-albanian scientist would agree to that "myth".
so please, dear Xhafer, just tell me who is actually living in past centuries and indulging in myths? can you dig it?
Serbs do not have to do that since they have a national identity of their own...

reading some non-albanian history books could be of help.

Trepca is a conglomerate of some 40 mines and factories,
mostly but not all in Kosovo, notably including Stari Trg, and the Zvecan smelter, located northwest of Mitrovica.

Remember that Trepca can survive without Zvecan smelter.

no it can't. b/c to build a new one presumes you can pay for it via heightened export activity. and you will not be permitted to export to the danube.

Blag,
I don't think you know what you are talking about; as a matter of fact, I'm sure you don't know.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe you have ever been to Kosova or Serbia. If you had then you would know that the average Serb earns about $250 per month. Serbia will never boycott Kosova, no serb that wants to eat would go along with such a ridiculous idea. The Danube would be available for shipping 24hr/day. You're forgeting one important fact: Serbia is poor! No gov't in their right mind would interfere with its ctizens ability to put food on the table for their family.
Perhaps your daddy pays for your room and board so that you can inflate your ego by playing hotshot economist on B-92, but most people work for a living.

arben, you expect to humiliate serbia... and then expect it to be nice to you? it will most definitely NOT recognize you diplomatically which means: blockage of your exports or restrictive tariffs.

serbia's economic position has reversed 180 degrees since this time last yr (read other articles on this site; not just the kosovo articles). or just google it yourself (don't listen to me).

serbia needs kosovo to "put food on its table" is a statement not based in reality.

yes, my daddy paid a lot of money for me to go to school and learn the things i write about.

do not be angry at me for pointing out the obvious. look at a map. look at where the mountains lay. look for the major roads and where they go. look at the railways and where they lead. look at the rivers big enough for transport and where they flow. look at the populations who need what you sell and where they reside. calculate the size of each market and then calculate the distance in kilometers. you will see all roads lead thru serbia.