Presidents leave Kosovo to diplomats

Presidents leave Kosovo to diplomats

At a press conference held at the White House, Hadley said that the two did discuss Kosovo.

“They did discuss it. However, that is a question that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov will spend a lot of time on,” Hadley said.

He added that the two presidents want Rice and Lavrov to monitor the discussions and continue them in order to see if a solution leading forward can be found for the situation.

While Bush and Putin did discuss Kosovo, they did not mention the issue at the joint press conference.

According to the AP, Bush and Putin have contrasting views on democracy and missile defense, NATO expansion into Russia's backyard, and independence for Kosovo.

White House spokesman Tony Snow reiterated on July 2 that the "lobster summit" was not expected to produce concrete agreements, but build up a personal rapport between the two leaders, according to AP.

"I don't expect anything, you can ask what you want, but we have made it pretty clear that we don't expect any major announcement," Snow told reporters.

In its July 2 issue, the Moscow daily Izvestia reported that the Americans would be pressing Russia over Kosovo, but added that Moscow would not change its position.

Meanwhile, European Union spokesperson Christina Gallach said that the EU “will take responsibility and make a decision on Kosovo if Russia continues to say nothing but ‘no.’”

Gallach told Večernje Novosti that the EU would then ask for the backing of the United Nations Security Council.

“Russia is defending its stances and has its own interests involved, but Kosovo is a European question and we let Moscow know that we are interested in solving the problem, and that we consider it to be our problem. The future of the Balkans depends on Europe, not on Russia,” Gallach said.

Asked whether the EU will continue to look for a solution with Russia, she said that the EU is “patient,” and has been working with Russia for months trying to find a solution.

“But everything has a deadline and if there is no solution, at one point, we will have to make a decision,” Gallach said.

"Kosovo received expected amount of focus"

President of the Forum for Ethnic Relations, Dušan Janjić, told B92 that it was expected for Bush and Putin to discuss other questions that are currently more important internationally than Kosovo, and that th e province will be given over to diplomats on a “lower level.”

“An atmosphere of cooperation has been created, Bush recognized Putin as one of the world’s leaders, and Russia as a regional power, which is important for Russia’s internal political interest,” Janjić said, adding that Russia and the U.S. will maintain their partnership and look for a common solution for Kosovo.

“All this has clear consequences for Kosovo and I think that Belgrade must get ready. Now Russia and the EU must find a compromise. Essentially, the U.S. agreed to a compromise between Russia and the EU, who also agreed to extending the deadline, with the condition that both the U.S. and EU will not support endless postponements,” he said.

“July and August are months in which common resolutions will be drafted, and Belgrade can, at best, offer communication through indirect channels, and should give up on the idea of new negotiations. Belgrade must prepare its strategy for discussing the situation through indirect channels and Russia,” Janjić said.

Ceku: International community losing credibility

Reuters reported Tuesday that Kosovo’s prime minister told the agency the province “will be forced to move on independence from Serbia”.

Agim Ceku warned that the West risked “losing credibility” if it continued to stall in the face of Russian opposition.

"If this process is not working, the international community has to offer us another alternative," he said in an interview with Reuters.

"We prefer the diplomatic route," he said.

"But if we see no hope, no clarity, no certainty, no effort, then we will be forced to move."

Ceku would not be drawn on how long the Albanian majority province would wait.

Ceku acknowledged the Catch-22.

"If we don't move, we risk losing credibility. If we move, we risk losing EU unity," he said.

"We have to find a compromise. This process is losing credibility because of Russian obstruction, the international community is losing credibility."