Bush: Kosovo will get independence

George Bush says the UN should grant Kosovo independence, and that if Russia continues to block it, "the West will act."

Izvor: B92

Sunday, 10.06.2007.

09:37

Default images

Bush: Kosovo will get independence

Bush said he was "worried about expectations not being met" in Kosovo, where 90 percent of the population are ethnic Albanians demanding independence from Serbia and where NATO leads a peacekeeping force of 17,000 troops.

He said Washington would continue to seek a solution through the United Nations but , "if it is apparent that [an agreement] is not going to happen in a relatively quick period of time, in my judgment, we need to put forward the resolution. Hence, deadline," Bush said.

A day ahead of his visit to Albania, Bush said in Rome that "no more time should be wasted in solving the issue of Kosovo's status."

"It's time to move the Ahtisaari plan forward," he said at a news conference following the meeting with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Bush expressed frustration about the lack of international consensus on granting Kosovo independence from Serbia.

He said he discussed Kosovo with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G8 summit, and it was "time to bring this issue to its head.”

Bush stressed there needed to be a deadline for action after a series of delays by those seeking more time to work on a UN Security Council resolution.

"And our view is that time is up," he remarked.

Bush said he also discussed the issue with Prodi and agreed with the Italian prime minister that there was a need to make sure the Serbs saw a way forward, such as with potential European Union membership. Bush said, nonetheless, he "did not have a say in that."

“But, I can talk to the Serbs about economic development, and can talk about a better relationship with the United States" he said.

Komentari 112

Pogledaj komentare

112 Komentari

Možda vas zanima

Podeli: