Putin to meet Merkel, Kosovo on agenda

let´s see what the german chancellor will say afterwards...

Mr. Sarkozy went to Russia in order to show that he is not going to back down...

and then, afterwards, he was singing from the treetops about his "friend" "Cher Vladimir", and invited him to France to a private visit.

I can remember how some immature posters were boasting about "Russia will back down"...

now that the US are also losing grip on the relations to Turkey... I would love to read some positive comments, on how influential the USA are, by our albanian boys here...

please, entertain us with your expertises!

Germany and Russia are destined to be Europe's 2 biggest trading partners.Merkel talks to Gerhard Schroeder who is on the board of directors of Russian Gazprom so what does Kosovo have to offer Germany?A welfare state of 2 million impoverished residents financed by the German taxpayer?The handwriting is on the wall.Auslander raus and Deutschland dein Deutschen are what the majority of Germans silently think about the Balkans.

Russia has backed Serbia at the UN Security Council by threatening to veto any move to give Kosovo "supervised independence", as recommended by Martti Ahtisaari.

Moscow insists this would send the "wrong signal" to separatist regions elsewhere in the world, primarily Russia's own southern regions.

The EU needs Russia more than Russia needs the EU & it would be in Merkel's best interest to be the open minded leader she has proven to be over the course of her leadership.

Just remember that Russia's barganing chip is the precious oil that so many superpowers fail to remember as their primary focus has been on the middle east & bush's grave error.

Talking to Russia on this matter would be a waste of time. Europe and USA just do the Kosova indpendent and move on.
(EA, 14. October 2007 20:32)

Europe is divided on the matter EA, this is not as simple as recognize Kosovo and move on. There are rules which states have to abide by, trade between states (Russia is a massive EU trading partner, as is the US) as well as diplomatic relations to consider that are in no way less important than Kosovo's independence.

The world cannot act rashly and just take one solution and hope for the best.

Unilateral independence would not benefit anyone, first of all Kosovo is in no state to sustain itself as yet (if independence is the option taken, then supervized independence would be better here, because unlike similarly small Yugoslav states like Slovenia and Macedonia, which have industry/infrastructure and Montenegro and Croatia that have the coastline/tourism, Kosovo has nothing, aside from agriculture, which does not set it aside from most African states, it simply cannot cope on its own, as yet) and secondly, Serbia is not just something that the EU can scrape off its shoe. Serbia is also a state that the EU wants to include as a member eventually (it has as much a right to do so as anybody else in Europe), to competely spoil relations with them and endanger the Balkans to further instability is not a wise thing to do either.

There has to be a life-long solution found that both states can agree to otherwise you can forget about stability in Europe, as unilateral independence surely is no guarantee of this (what skin is it off the US's nose to recognize it? What about Europe?).

Peter,
Can you get that there would be now agreement between the two parties when it comes to Sovereignity? How can I help you on that to make you understand? That is the MAIN issue. Would you be happy being called German instead of Polish? Maybe you personally don't mind but I know for certain that the Kosovar Albanians don't want to be called Serbian citizen anymore after all they have been through in their history. I hope that will help you to understand.

Talking to Russia on this matter would be a waste of time. Europe and USA just do the Kosova indpendent and move on.

EA

From that perspective I understand 100%. I obviously prefer to be a Pole, not a "Germanized Pole" (no offense to Germans here).

Moscow is right it is sending the wrong signal. As said before, it would set a precident for every state in the world. The thought of Kosovo becoming independent would only complicate things for the rest of Europe. I'm sure any level headed politition knows this. And i'm sure the EU knows this as well. I think they are going through with these talks just to amuse the Albanian population and in the end it'll come down to "sorry we can't help you." I wonder why the US is backing down. Just imagine something like this to happen in the US. Granted they aren't a part of the EU but still it sets an example. If the Kosovo Albainians have a global superpower backing them why shouldn't the Serbs. I also know that Russia isn't in the EU and they shouldn't have a say but Serbia has a right to have someone to defend them. Serbs have been deface plenty of times due to the situation in Kosovo. But to look on the same side of the fence is unthinkable to the Albanians.
To EA: Why don't the Kosovo Albanians want to be called Serbian citizens. They live in Serbia. That is like me not wanting to be called an American citizen and to be called a Serbian citizen living in America. It's not logical. If they want to be Albanian citizens they can go to Albania. I understand that they want to have Kosovo citizenship. I just doesn't make sense. Kosovo is not a country or nationallity. Its a state within Serbia. When you are asked what is your nationality you answer Albanian. If you are asked your citizenship you answer by the country you live in be it America, Canada, Albania, Serbia and so on. I cannot believe that you are so uneducated that this situation is hard to comprehend. Plain and simple,Kosovo cannot have independence on the basis that the Albanians want Kosovo citizenship.

Talking to Russia on this matter would be a waste of time. Europe and USA just do the Kosova indpendent and move on.

Peter,
Can you get that there would be now agreement between the two parties when it comes to Sovereignity? How can I help you on that to make you understand? That is the MAIN issue. Would you be happy being called German instead of Polish? Maybe you personally don't mind but I know for certain that the Kosovar Albanians don't want to be called Serbian citizen anymore after all they have been through in their history. I hope that will help you to understand.

let´s see what the german chancellor will say afterwards...

Mr. Sarkozy went to Russia in order to show that he is not going to back down...

and then, afterwards, he was singing from the treetops about his "friend" "Cher Vladimir", and invited him to France to a private visit.

I can remember how some immature posters were boasting about "Russia will back down"...

now that the US are also losing grip on the relations to Turkey... I would love to read some positive comments, on how influential the USA are, by our albanian boys here...

please, entertain us with your expertises!

Germany and Russia are destined to be Europe's 2 biggest trading partners.Merkel talks to Gerhard Schroeder who is on the board of directors of Russian Gazprom so what does Kosovo have to offer Germany?A welfare state of 2 million impoverished residents financed by the German taxpayer?The handwriting is on the wall.Auslander raus and Deutschland dein Deutschen are what the majority of Germans silently think about the Balkans.

Russia has backed Serbia at the UN Security Council by threatening to veto any move to give Kosovo "supervised independence", as recommended by Martti Ahtisaari.

Moscow insists this would send the "wrong signal" to separatist regions elsewhere in the world, primarily Russia's own southern regions.

The EU needs Russia more than Russia needs the EU & it would be in Merkel's best interest to be the open minded leader she has proven to be over the course of her leadership.

Just remember that Russia's barganing chip is the precious oil that so many superpowers fail to remember as their primary focus has been on the middle east & bush's grave error.

Talking to Russia on this matter would be a waste of time. Europe and USA just do the Kosova indpendent and move on.
(EA, 14. October 2007 20:32)

Europe is divided on the matter EA, this is not as simple as recognize Kosovo and move on. There are rules which states have to abide by, trade between states (Russia is a massive EU trading partner, as is the US) as well as diplomatic relations to consider that are in no way less important than Kosovo's independence.

The world cannot act rashly and just take one solution and hope for the best.

Unilateral independence would not benefit anyone, first of all Kosovo is in no state to sustain itself as yet (if independence is the option taken, then supervized independence would be better here, because unlike similarly small Yugoslav states like Slovenia and Macedonia, which have industry/infrastructure and Montenegro and Croatia that have the coastline/tourism, Kosovo has nothing, aside from agriculture, which does not set it aside from most African states, it simply cannot cope on its own, as yet) and secondly, Serbia is not just something that the EU can scrape off its shoe. Serbia is also a state that the EU wants to include as a member eventually (it has as much a right to do so as anybody else in Europe), to competely spoil relations with them and endanger the Balkans to further instability is not a wise thing to do either.

There has to be a life-long solution found that both states can agree to otherwise you can forget about stability in Europe, as unilateral independence surely is no guarantee of this (what skin is it off the US's nose to recognize it? What about Europe?).

EA

From that perspective I understand 100%. I obviously prefer to be a Pole, not a "Germanized Pole" (no offense to Germans here).

Moscow is right it is sending the wrong signal. As said before, it would set a precident for every state in the world. The thought of Kosovo becoming independent would only complicate things for the rest of Europe. I'm sure any level headed politition knows this. And i'm sure the EU knows this as well. I think they are going through with these talks just to amuse the Albanian population and in the end it'll come down to "sorry we can't help you." I wonder why the US is backing down. Just imagine something like this to happen in the US. Granted they aren't a part of the EU but still it sets an example. If the Kosovo Albainians have a global superpower backing them why shouldn't the Serbs. I also know that Russia isn't in the EU and they shouldn't have a say but Serbia has a right to have someone to defend them. Serbs have been deface plenty of times due to the situation in Kosovo. But to look on the same side of the fence is unthinkable to the Albanians.
To EA: Why don't the Kosovo Albanians want to be called Serbian citizens. They live in Serbia. That is like me not wanting to be called an American citizen and to be called a Serbian citizen living in America. It's not logical. If they want to be Albanian citizens they can go to Albania. I understand that they want to have Kosovo citizenship. I just doesn't make sense. Kosovo is not a country or nationallity. Its a state within Serbia. When you are asked what is your nationality you answer Albanian. If you are asked your citizenship you answer by the country you live in be it America, Canada, Albania, Serbia and so on. I cannot believe that you are so uneducated that this situation is hard to comprehend. Plain and simple,Kosovo cannot have independence on the basis that the Albanians want Kosovo citizenship.