Bush calls for independent Kosovo
US president warns Russia not to block it but Serbia rejects any unilateral declaration.
He added: “We need to get moving and the end result is independence. Independence is the goal.”
Bush’s comments come days after Russia blocked Kosovo’s path to independence during the G8 summit in Germany.
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| Bush received the National Flag Order medal from Alfred Moisui, Albania’s president [EPA] |
Bush said Washington would continue to seek a deal on a UN resolution but “if it is apparent that is not going to happen in a relatively quick period of time, in my judgment, we need to put forward the resolution. Hence, deadline”.
The US leader also thanked Albania for support in Iraq and Afghanistan – greeting troops who had served there – and gave strong backing to the country’s bid to join Nato.
Kosovo has been under UN administration since 1999, after a Nato bombing campaign helped to drive out Serb forces. About 10,000 ethnic Albanians died and hundreds of thousands fled Kosovo during the conflict.
Agim Ceku, Kosovo’s prime minister, hailed Bush’s “clear and strong message”, saying “in a sense he declared independence”.
But Andrija Mladenovic, spokesman for Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia, said that “all state institutions will immediately reject any such proclamation of independence”, the Tanjug news agency reported.
A source in the Serbian cabinet told Tanjug that “the Serbian government will immediately enact a law which will annul” any unilateral declaration.
Bush urged Serbia to reconsider its adamant opposition and reliance on Russia and think of its future as part of the West.
“We want to make sure that Serbia hears that the United States supports their aspirations for closer integration with the West. That means working with the United States in a bilateral fashion. It also means potential membership of Nato, for example.”