"Chances of new approach to Kosovo"

it´s not the europeans who have to convince Russia, ..it´s the US who have to convince the European Union...,since there won´t be any recognition by the EU without UN-approval... but as it seems right now, taci is once again lying to his own poeple.

Jovan what do you think who is lying to his people more, is it Thaqi or Kostunica?
Putin will be told that with or without russia Kosova will become Independente.You will see and I will tell you "told you so"

There are many EU states ready to recognize Kosova's independence. Britain, France Germany and Slovenia being just a few that already said they would.
So, even at the end of 'more talks' serbia will be at the same point it started. What serbia doesn't get is that they broke all int'l laws when they attacked their own citizens, committed ethnic cleansing and murder with the state army against their minority citizens. Once a govt. breaks their social contract with the citizens they rule, then, they broke all int'l laws governing this people's right to rule over those minorities who were attacked. Serbia lost broke this int'l law with its own citizens, therefore, they lost the right to keep that other part of int'l law, respect of boundaries. No one will respect their boundaries once they broke that int'l law of protection of equal human rights of all its citizens when they kicked out 1 million Albanian citizens and murdered 10,000 unarmed civilian citizens of Kosova. Serbia has no right to rule over their own citizens let alone rule over any minorities.

Lily
Don't worry about who will recognize u because CoE wont, which means neither will Germany nor France and even England will be forced not to recognize u. They said it so maybe u should pay more attention to the news.

My dear Ahmet, once again you attempt to formulate an argument without looking at all the facts and figures on the ground. Let's go over them one by one.

1. With or without Russia, Kosovo will be independent. Yes, provided Russia abstains from voting in the UN, and not vetoes, which it said it will. If you've been purposefully shutting your eyes and ears to the news over the last two weeks, you missed the little tidbit of the EU, and the CoE (which is essentiually the EU) not recognizing any independence without a UN vote. If you're hinting at unilateral declaration, as your leaders are being pressured to do, see how far it really gets you. See how many EU nations, beholden to rules and procedures, will recognize the independence of a state simply because a few separatists declare it. See also how many international corporations will want to invest their money and resources in an extremely unstable part of the world. And see how far American tolerance of their government once again acting unilaterally will support their leaders who are trying to sell this to us. Unilateral independence puts your house on toothpicks, rather than cinder blocks.

2. Thaci is more trustworthy than Kostunica. Thaci is no better, or worse, than Kostunica. Both are nationalists with the sole intention of furthering their own political ends on the ethnic identity of their people. In fact, I'd even go so far as to compare Thaci with Seselj. Both were paramilitary soldiers in the 1990s and both undoubtedly have blood on their hands. They deserve to be roomates in the Hague. Thaci is telling his constituents what they want to hear, just as Kostunica is telling his.

3. Kosovo will be independent. In all likelihood yes, but most likely not the way you probably envision it. If there's truly justice in this world, you'll get your independence at a very high price and after serious sacrifices are made to both Serbia, Russia, and the international community. In exchange for support, Russia may want to buy up 51% of all industries, station troops alongside NATO, or give Serbia a greater slice of Kosovo territory for their own self-governed confederation.

You really need to be less nationalistic and more pragmatic about this if you want to be in any position to tell someone "I told you so". The world, the US included, is not about to rupture international security just for the sake of a bunch of K Albanians.

Just food for thought....

Don´t worry Mike,

those boys like Ahmed can boast as long as the day lasts...it won´t matter anway, since they refuse to understand the most simple things...
but one thing is for sure, they are not in the postition to tell anybody "told you so"... as far as I can see, they promised us that Russia will back down before the "one and only global superpower" ... I am not sure, but I think it was this Ahmed himself...right? :)
and what happened? ...keep cool boys, you will still have to learn a lot here...

“Serbia expects that the two presidents will focus on solving the Kosovo issue by means of launching new negotiations, aim of which would be to reach a compromise solution acceptable to both sides, in line with fundamental principles of international law,” he stressed.
-----------------------------

There is no such thing as 'international law', hence there could not be principles, hence Russia's stance is literally unprincipled.

If there were principles to be upheld, how about the WWI principle of national states for people of one ethnicity. Under that principle, Serbia would have never been awarded Kosovo.

I would also say that you Serbs continue being obstructive at your own risk. You too are risking your own investment climate and you certainly are not demonstrating any desire to have peace with Albanians.

You have zero chance of controlling Kosovo. Think of your mother Russia and the great expense, lives, and reputation that it cost them to reincorporate Chechnya. And it's still not a safe place - how can it be when the government is fundamentally opposed by the population.... Can you accomplish what Russia did, in the middle of Europe? (You did try, but you failed.)

Your leaders, who are misleading you, say that independence is against international law. Let's get this one clear: there is nothing in international law that prohibits you from making a historic peace deal with Albanians now. But you would rather have another try at getting rid of the Albanian population, you would like to keep Albanians unarmed, unable to protect themselves, so your next, already planned military campaign goes smoothly.

If your government does not agree to independence, we really don't give a damn. We just have to arm ourselves and be ready for any misadventure on your part. Remember how the kings of England claimed the throne of France for a few centuries? You also may continue to claim the throne of Prishtina as long as you stay away from it.
You will eventually come to your senses.

As our Kadare says, all the Balkan nation are of similar size (and that's after the hundreds of thousands of Albanians killed and those that were sent to Turkey in the 20th century). Your nation isn't that much bigger than ours. You can't be our rulers.

I really hope Bush does not embarrass himself or us Americans by begging Putin for help but instead puts forward a concrete plan for US-Russian relations based on an equal partnership of 2 very important countries for the good of the world.

I agree with Jovan you have to convince the EU and NATO. Thaci can give all the promises in he wants none have any merit because neither he nor Kostunica at this point have control over the situation.

To Ahmet Isufi ~ the last time I checked, Putin was meeting with bush due to an invitiation. Do you actually think for one single moment that Putin will engage with bush's thoughts? Oh, by the way, did you ever name the street in Tirana "George W. Bush Boulevard" for more than a day? Didn't think so!

A way out for Kosovo?

The page one article "EU faces thorny choice on Kosovo" (June 29) raises some thorny issues. Depending upon how the world responds to the Kosovo final status conundrum - "phased independence" over the next few years for the Kosovar Albanian majority (the UN plan), or "substantial autonomy" for the province (Belgrade's position) - the decision has grave implications for the resurrection of violence between Serbs and Albanians and for the Balkans in general.

What to do? This is clearly not the time for "old" thinking, which seems to have dominated the discourse over Kosovo thus far, with threats and counter-threats, talk of Russians holding EU foreign policy hostage, and the like.

Why not reframe the plan presented last January by Martti Ahtisaari, the UN special envoy, to allow Serbia to retain dejure sovereignty over Kosovo, but allow the Albanians to have defacto sovereignty through a leasing agreement with Belgrade. This, plus all the protections for human rights of Serbs and other minorities in Kosovo, with the European Union working assiduously to get Serbia as well as Kosovo into "the Club" where, once again, both would be members of the same overarching framework, might do the trick, at least until other, longer term procedures are worked out to the satisfaction of all concerned.

I have written extensively here and elsewhere on the breakup of Yugoslavia.. I provide a link http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/eo20070702gc.html to an article written by an Australian professor in Japan Times. This article is for all of you on this blog who selectively remember contemporary history which the Australians seem to know well and are now teaching it to the Japanese

To Mr. Thachi:Nothing is possible in this wonderful world without Russia' involvement, including Kosovo resolution.

a rare thing to see, this article in the Japan Times!

arigato gozaimasu, Walter!

truth will prevail, I am very sure of it. it´s only a matter of time.

Serbia must be the first state that recognize new reality and new state of Kosovo, because Serbia was first that created Kosovo state (With their politic). Please, serbian people: JUST DO IT, and after will begin talks about good neighbour relationship and prosperity of both states.

I don’t think that they will discus Kosovo issue. Do you really think that Kosovo is so important for them?
No matter what Kosovo status is going to be is going to better that it is at the moment.

Something about the postings in here
I like posters of Princip, Cvele, Jovan and Kate. Really your comments are written in superior English language. I have realised that you want to show us that you can write perfect English in midst of non English speakers. As for your comments I treat them as provocative but acceptable. Some people mind works like that. It is really fortunate that most of the Serbian people are tired of Princip, Cvele, Jovan and Kate(see the B92 in Serbian comments).B92 in Serbian tells that Balkan’s are moving ahead and people with such opinion are minority but still a bit influential.
By the time these guys are gone some of you here would change the colours again, who knows on which side are you going to be, I bet you dot know as well.

Luciano-
Do you really think that our "fearless leader" has the intelligence to accomplish anything at this meeting with Putin? How many other issues has he made a disaster of since taking office? Bush, Bush II, and Clinton all deserve to go down in history as terrible presidents. Read the link below...
www.iraqwar.org

it´s not the europeans who have to convince Russia, ..it´s the US who have to convince the European Union...,since there won´t be any recognition by the EU without UN-approval... but as it seems right now, taci is once again lying to his own poeple.

Jovan what do you think who is lying to his people more, is it Thaqi or Kostunica?
Putin will be told that with or without russia Kosova will become Independente.You will see and I will tell you "told you so"

There are many EU states ready to recognize Kosova's independence. Britain, France Germany and Slovenia being just a few that already said they would.
So, even at the end of 'more talks' serbia will be at the same point it started. What serbia doesn't get is that they broke all int'l laws when they attacked their own citizens, committed ethnic cleansing and murder with the state army against their minority citizens. Once a govt. breaks their social contract with the citizens they rule, then, they broke all int'l laws governing this people's right to rule over those minorities who were attacked. Serbia lost broke this int'l law with its own citizens, therefore, they lost the right to keep that other part of int'l law, respect of boundaries. No one will respect their boundaries once they broke that int'l law of protection of equal human rights of all its citizens when they kicked out 1 million Albanian citizens and murdered 10,000 unarmed civilian citizens of Kosova. Serbia has no right to rule over their own citizens let alone rule over any minorities.

Lily
Don't worry about who will recognize u because CoE wont, which means neither will Germany nor France and even England will be forced not to recognize u. They said it so maybe u should pay more attention to the news.

My dear Ahmet, once again you attempt to formulate an argument without looking at all the facts and figures on the ground. Let's go over them one by one.

1. With or without Russia, Kosovo will be independent. Yes, provided Russia abstains from voting in the UN, and not vetoes, which it said it will. If you've been purposefully shutting your eyes and ears to the news over the last two weeks, you missed the little tidbit of the EU, and the CoE (which is essentiually the EU) not recognizing any independence without a UN vote. If you're hinting at unilateral declaration, as your leaders are being pressured to do, see how far it really gets you. See how many EU nations, beholden to rules and procedures, will recognize the independence of a state simply because a few separatists declare it. See also how many international corporations will want to invest their money and resources in an extremely unstable part of the world. And see how far American tolerance of their government once again acting unilaterally will support their leaders who are trying to sell this to us. Unilateral independence puts your house on toothpicks, rather than cinder blocks.

2. Thaci is more trustworthy than Kostunica. Thaci is no better, or worse, than Kostunica. Both are nationalists with the sole intention of furthering their own political ends on the ethnic identity of their people. In fact, I'd even go so far as to compare Thaci with Seselj. Both were paramilitary soldiers in the 1990s and both undoubtedly have blood on their hands. They deserve to be roomates in the Hague. Thaci is telling his constituents what they want to hear, just as Kostunica is telling his.

3. Kosovo will be independent. In all likelihood yes, but most likely not the way you probably envision it. If there's truly justice in this world, you'll get your independence at a very high price and after serious sacrifices are made to both Serbia, Russia, and the international community. In exchange for support, Russia may want to buy up 51% of all industries, station troops alongside NATO, or give Serbia a greater slice of Kosovo territory for their own self-governed confederation.

You really need to be less nationalistic and more pragmatic about this if you want to be in any position to tell someone "I told you so". The world, the US included, is not about to rupture international security just for the sake of a bunch of K Albanians.

Just food for thought....

Don´t worry Mike,

those boys like Ahmed can boast as long as the day lasts...it won´t matter anway, since they refuse to understand the most simple things...
but one thing is for sure, they are not in the postition to tell anybody "told you so"... as far as I can see, they promised us that Russia will back down before the "one and only global superpower" ... I am not sure, but I think it was this Ahmed himself...right? :)
and what happened? ...keep cool boys, you will still have to learn a lot here...

“Serbia expects that the two presidents will focus on solving the Kosovo issue by means of launching new negotiations, aim of which would be to reach a compromise solution acceptable to both sides, in line with fundamental principles of international law,” he stressed.
-----------------------------

There is no such thing as 'international law', hence there could not be principles, hence Russia's stance is literally unprincipled.

If there were principles to be upheld, how about the WWI principle of national states for people of one ethnicity. Under that principle, Serbia would have never been awarded Kosovo.

I would also say that you Serbs continue being obstructive at your own risk. You too are risking your own investment climate and you certainly are not demonstrating any desire to have peace with Albanians.

You have zero chance of controlling Kosovo. Think of your mother Russia and the great expense, lives, and reputation that it cost them to reincorporate Chechnya. And it's still not a safe place - how can it be when the government is fundamentally opposed by the population.... Can you accomplish what Russia did, in the middle of Europe? (You did try, but you failed.)

Your leaders, who are misleading you, say that independence is against international law. Let's get this one clear: there is nothing in international law that prohibits you from making a historic peace deal with Albanians now. But you would rather have another try at getting rid of the Albanian population, you would like to keep Albanians unarmed, unable to protect themselves, so your next, already planned military campaign goes smoothly.

If your government does not agree to independence, we really don't give a damn. We just have to arm ourselves and be ready for any misadventure on your part. Remember how the kings of England claimed the throne of France for a few centuries? You also may continue to claim the throne of Prishtina as long as you stay away from it.
You will eventually come to your senses.

As our Kadare says, all the Balkan nation are of similar size (and that's after the hundreds of thousands of Albanians killed and those that were sent to Turkey in the 20th century). Your nation isn't that much bigger than ours. You can't be our rulers.

I really hope Bush does not embarrass himself or us Americans by begging Putin for help but instead puts forward a concrete plan for US-Russian relations based on an equal partnership of 2 very important countries for the good of the world.

I agree with Jovan you have to convince the EU and NATO. Thaci can give all the promises in he wants none have any merit because neither he nor Kostunica at this point have control over the situation.

To Ahmet Isufi ~ the last time I checked, Putin was meeting with bush due to an invitiation. Do you actually think for one single moment that Putin will engage with bush's thoughts? Oh, by the way, did you ever name the street in Tirana "George W. Bush Boulevard" for more than a day? Didn't think so!

A way out for Kosovo?

The page one article "EU faces thorny choice on Kosovo" (June 29) raises some thorny issues. Depending upon how the world responds to the Kosovo final status conundrum - "phased independence" over the next few years for the Kosovar Albanian majority (the UN plan), or "substantial autonomy" for the province (Belgrade's position) - the decision has grave implications for the resurrection of violence between Serbs and Albanians and for the Balkans in general.

What to do? This is clearly not the time for "old" thinking, which seems to have dominated the discourse over Kosovo thus far, with threats and counter-threats, talk of Russians holding EU foreign policy hostage, and the like.

Why not reframe the plan presented last January by Martti Ahtisaari, the UN special envoy, to allow Serbia to retain dejure sovereignty over Kosovo, but allow the Albanians to have defacto sovereignty through a leasing agreement with Belgrade. This, plus all the protections for human rights of Serbs and other minorities in Kosovo, with the European Union working assiduously to get Serbia as well as Kosovo into "the Club" where, once again, both would be members of the same overarching framework, might do the trick, at least until other, longer term procedures are worked out to the satisfaction of all concerned.

I have written extensively here and elsewhere on the breakup of Yugoslavia.. I provide a link http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/eo20070702gc.html to an article written by an Australian professor in Japan Times. This article is for all of you on this blog who selectively remember contemporary history which the Australians seem to know well and are now teaching it to the Japanese

To Mr. Thachi:Nothing is possible in this wonderful world without Russia' involvement, including Kosovo resolution.

a rare thing to see, this article in the Japan Times!

arigato gozaimasu, Walter!

truth will prevail, I am very sure of it. it´s only a matter of time.

Serbia must be the first state that recognize new reality and new state of Kosovo, because Serbia was first that created Kosovo state (With their politic). Please, serbian people: JUST DO IT, and after will begin talks about good neighbour relationship and prosperity of both states.

I don’t think that they will discus Kosovo issue. Do you really think that Kosovo is so important for them?
No matter what Kosovo status is going to be is going to better that it is at the moment.

Something about the postings in here
I like posters of Princip, Cvele, Jovan and Kate. Really your comments are written in superior English language. I have realised that you want to show us that you can write perfect English in midst of non English speakers. As for your comments I treat them as provocative but acceptable. Some people mind works like that. It is really fortunate that most of the Serbian people are tired of Princip, Cvele, Jovan and Kate(see the B92 in Serbian comments).B92 in Serbian tells that Balkan’s are moving ahead and people with such opinion are minority but still a bit influential.
By the time these guys are gone some of you here would change the colours again, who knows on which side are you going to be, I bet you dot know as well.

Luciano-
Do you really think that our "fearless leader" has the intelligence to accomplish anything at this meeting with Putin? How many other issues has he made a disaster of since taking office? Bush, Bush II, and Clinton all deserve to go down in history as terrible presidents. Read the link below...
www.iraqwar.org