Are words understood the same way in Belgrade as in Prishtina?

1.
Serbia must be Kosovo's strategic partner in the future. There are several reasons for this, beginning from the simple geographic ones and all the way to the special nature of the Kosovo-Serbia relations. The special nature is dramatic: citizens of Kosovo have been persecuted by the Serb state up to the war that aimed the destruction of the Albanian identity in Kosovo. Today Kosovo is not only trying to overcome this pain of the past but trying to finally put a cover on its head so that never the pains of the past are repeated. And for this, Kosovo has as starting point the notion that the conflict of the past can be overtaken only if a new paradigm is set in the relations between us, and this is that of the partnership. Two states which cooperate for a joint European future will be able to find a way away from the legacy of conflict. Partnership, obviously, denotes equality. Only equals can be partners, and conceptually, so far from Serbia we have not seen the readiness to recognize us as equals. From Serbia, likewise today in New York, we hear about the concept of subordination, about the concept according to which Kosovo must subordinate to the Serb institutions.  The concept of subordination has been demolished, finally, with the liberation of Kosovo in 1999.

International Crisis Group

December 1, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- No breakthroughs regarding Kosovo's future status have been made as the "troika" of international mediators prepare to report to the UN secretary-general. Representatives of the United States, Russia, and the European Union on December 10 will issue their reports on the latest round of negotiations regarding the breakaway Serbian province. RFE/RL correspondent Heather Maher asks Belgrade-based James Lyon, the special Balkans adviser to the International Crisis Group, for his predictions on what the coming days and weeks might bring.

WASHINGTON --  U.S. Senator and one of the Democrats' presidential favorites Hillary Clinton has spoken out over the Kosovo crisis.

Clinton said that it was unlikely the Troika-led talks would lead to a compromise, and that the U.S. government should be ready to recognize a Kosovo declaration of independence.

Some European countries that had doubts regarding the independence of Kosovo now are ready to accept it, Tim Judah has stated for a BBC interview. Among these countries, Judah singles Germany, which recently has expressed her readiness for preserving European unity on Kosovo.

Following the failure of the additional talks on Kosovo status, led by the Troika USA-EU-Russia, Tim Judah expects for Kosovo to announce independence unilaterally. He says that it will be recognized from the United States and the majority of the European countries. "I think that the conclusion of the Troika will be that they tried to do their work as best as they could and it was impossible to reach an agreement between the parties, therefore they will return the problem to the United Nations. After this, barring some unexpected event, Kosovo will announce independence, I believe at the beginning of the new year," says Judah.

 

Tim Judah is an analyst on the Balkans and author of books on Kosovo and Serbia.