Posted on 03/26/2007 8:21:57 AM PDT by Bokababe
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States backs a plan giving supervised independence to Serbia's breakaway Kosovo province and expects a United Nations Security Council vote on the proposal by summer, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.
The plan, drafted by U.N. special envoy and former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, went to the Security Council on Monday after a year of fruitless negotiations between Serbia and the majority ethnic Albanians in the province.
"The United States does support the proposal by President Ahtisaari for a supervised independence for Kosovo," UnderSecretary of State Nicholas Burns said in Brussels.
"After a year of effort and a year of conversation it's time the Kosovars received their just due."
Burns said Russian reservations would have to be overcome, but added: "I think the Ahtisaari plan will be accepted by the United Nations."
In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he fully supported the recommendation for independence for Kosovo, supervised by the international community.
Ahtisaari said in the report that "independence is the only viable option for a politically stable and economically viable Kosovo."
The Ahtisaari plan would give independence to the 90-percent Albanian-majority province but provides for an EU overseer and broad self-government for the remaining 100,000 Serbs.
Serbia rejects independence for Kosovo as a violation of international law. It says it would never accept the amputation of the province it sees as the cradle of the Serb nation.
The United States and the EU have set an unofficial deadline of June for a Security Council resolution backing the blueprint, eight years after the West went to war to wrest control of the territory from the forces of late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic.
Burns said he expected five to seven weeks of consultations with Kosovo Albanian leaders, the Serb government and members of the Security Council to try to format the best resolution.
"We are going to reach out to the Russians, the Chinese, the other members of the Security Council," he said, adding he hoped "by April or May it will be time to pass this resolution."
U.N. veto holder Russia, which backs Serbia, has called for the talks to continue and insists a solution must be acceptable to both sides, a goal Western analysts say is impossible.
Speaking at a Brussels think thank, Burns rejected remarks made last year by Russian President Vladimir Putin that it would be difficult to grant Kosovo independence but deny it to others.
"I don't think that anyone would even suggest that Kosovo is a precedent that would have an impact on Georgia, Moldova or another country in Europe," he said, referring to former Soviet states with pro-Russian separatist movements.
However, while Burns was talking to a group of journalists afterwards, Russian ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov leaned across to say goodbye to the American and added:
"It will be a precedent, but not because we want it!"
Ten thousand Albanians died and almost one million fled during Serbia's 1998-99 counter-insurgency war against Albanian separatist guerrillas.
NATO allies heading 16,500 troops in Kosovo say Albanians will not accept a longer wait for independence and have warned of unrest.
(Additional reporting by William Schomberg, Matt Robinson)
"The United States does support the proposal by President Ahtisaari for a supervised independence for Kosovo," UnderSecretary of State Nicholas Burns said
same sort of crap-qualifications-laden language as is used to incrementally advance us to the North American Union and the expansion of THAT to include central and s america! WTH does "supervised independence" mean, other than installing a muslim state into europe?
Where's Vlad when we need him?
Why ask questions?
US supported Vichy France for 2 years, and that was nazi anti-semitic creation...
It means that Serbs and Gypsies will be prevented from defending themselves against pogroms.
Great...Now we're participating in the Islamification of Europe...
"Diplomats" and a$$holes will be the ruination of the planet -- not Global Warming.
Semper Fi
The buck stops at the WH. The State Department implements foreign policy and is only one of many foreign affairs agencies that have input into its formulation. The NSC and the WH decide what is our policy, not the diplomats.
All non-Diplomats were sufficiently covered by "a$$holes"..
Apparently our "diplomats" weren't up to the task of explaining the consequences of the decision -- adding them to the "a$$hole" category.
No?
Semper Fi
And they just continue to lie! Estimates are that "UP TO 10,000 PEOPLE ON ALL SIDES WERE KILLED", although they have only found around 2500 bodies -- and not all dead Albanians were killed by Serbs, there was significant Albanian-on-Albanian violence as political groups rivaled one another for power.
Further, that "Albanian Exodus from Kosovo" was staged, in order to bring back in Albanians from Albania, in order to displace Serbs and increase Albanian numbers in making the case that Kosovo independence has a "democratic basis".
Please remind me, what country am I living in? Because this sure doesn't sound like any America I was raised to believe in!
You a$$ume a lot. Sometimes our diplomats are overruled by the politicians who don't care about the consequences.
Perhaps we BOTH are.....
I can't recall any Diplomats recently -- expounding on ANY issue, who impressed me..
Are you saying - all of them have been reduced to "hand puppets" of the President?
I sincerely doubt that to be the case.... Too many are hold overs from the Clinton administrations.
Semper Fi
No, I am saying that the President is in charge of US foreign policy and the State Department is not an autonomous, rogue operation that is outside of his authority or control. The President is the Chief Executive and CIC.
I sincerely doubt that to be the case.... Too many are hold overs from the Clinton administrations.
The only holdovers from the Clinton Administration are the career employees. The Clinton appointees all resigned when Bush took office. In fact, career employees in Schedule C jobs must also put in their resignations upon a change in Presidents, including all Ambassadors.
The job of diplomats is to represent their clients - governments and politicians. Exactly like lawyers in the court do.
IN PRIVATE, diplomats may provide some advice, suggestions or even criticism to those who give them instructions. As the last resort they can resign and write a book :)
You cannot be a good diplomat and a politician at the same time.
An ambassador is a man of virtue sent to lie abroad for his country.
Compounding the problem is the fact that the Islamofacists who will run Kosovo will form a sanctuary/launching pad for militant Islamic fundamentalists to attack Europe. Bush is in no position to break with the Europeans on this one given his need for their cooperation in other areas, including Afghanistan.
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