"U.S. does not support Kosovo partition"

U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Mary Warlick has stated that Washington "strongly supports Serbia in its EU integration". She also stressed that the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina "is very important and expected to result in great progress in the coming months". "U.S. does not support Kosovo partition" "More work is still needed when it comes to reforms required by the EU," she noted, adding that another significant issue was "continuous progress in cooperation within the region". "That is why the talks between Belgrade and Pristina are so important," she remarked in an interview for the Belgrade-based Politika daily. "The talks can solve many issues, like the cadastre, telecommunications and electrical power, all of which can be very useful for the people in Kosovo," she was quoted as saying. When asked why a partition of Kosovo "was acceptable to Washington in the 1990s and not now", she responded that she saw "no reason to look back". "As far as the U.S. is concerned, the status and the borders of Kosovo have been settled," said Warlick. "However, the U.S. does recognize Serbia's special interest and relations with the Serbs living in Kosovo, as well as in terms of the monasteries and cultural heritage there," she added. Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in early 2008, but the proclamation was rejected by Serbia. Commenting on Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty's report on human organ trafficking in Kosovo - which points the finger at ethnic Albanians - Warlick reiterated that the U.S. believes the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo - EULEX - was "perfectly capable of investigating those crimes". Serbia, on the other hand, insists that this investigation should be entrusted to the United Nations, as was the case with other war crimes probes. Speaking about the arrest of Ratko Mladic, the American envoy said it was "very important for Serbia and its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but also for all the victims of the Bosnian war, especially those affected by the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica". According to the newspaper, Warlick also stated that she was "convinced Serbia is going to complete its obligations towards the Hague Tribunal". Mary Warlick (file)

"U.S. does not support Kosovo partition"

"More work is still needed when it comes to reforms required by the EU," she noted, adding that another significant issue was "continuous progress in cooperation within the region".

"That is why the talks between Belgrade and Priština are so important," she remarked in an interview for the Belgrade-based Politika daily.

"The talks can solve many issues, like the cadastre, telecommunications and electrical power, all of which can be very useful for the people in Kosovo," she was quoted as saying.

When asked why a partition of Kosovo "was acceptable to Washington in the 1990s and not now", she responded that she saw "no reason to look back".

"As far as the U.S. is concerned, the status and the borders of Kosovo have been settled," said Warlick.

"However, the U.S. does recognize Serbia's special interest and relations with the Serbs living in Kosovo, as well as in terms of the monasteries and cultural heritage there," she added.

Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in early 2008, but the proclamation was rejected by Serbia.

Commenting on Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty's report on human organ trafficking in Kosovo - which points the finger at ethnic Albanians - Warlick reiterated that the U.S. believes the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo - EULEX - was "perfectly capable of investigating those crimes".

Serbia, on the other hand, insists that this investigation should be entrusted to the United Nations, as was the case with other war crimes probes.

Speaking about the arrest of Ratko Mladić, the American envoy said it was "very important for Serbia and its cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but also for all the victims of the Bosnian war, especially those affected by the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica".

According to the newspaper, Warlick also stated that she was "convinced Serbia is going to complete its obligations towards the Hague Tribunal".