United States President George W. Bush’s recent saying that Kosovo should get its independence is likely to ignite the tense between Washington and Moscow.
Bush’s political rhythm is in harmony with the United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari, who has echoed his voice to have an independent Kosovo under the supervision of European Union. However, we should not forget that Russia will not move its stance to go against the proposal.
It was in 1999 when the West bombed Serbia for its vicious attack that had left over ten thousand ethnic Albanian civilians killed and hundreds of thousands fled. Ever since, Kosovo has been administered by the UN and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). And with the collapse of communism in 1990, the 90 percent of Albanian living in Kosovo has in general been adopting Western values, hoping that the world will listen to their craving for the independence of Kosovo.
Methinks that reaching the consensus of Kosovo issue is not as easy as flipping the coin. With Serbia’s claim that Kosovo is part of the 1,000-year historical motherland and Russia’s pledge of using its power to veto the independent blueprint, Washington needs to buckle down.
Reaching consensus is now becoming a crucial point. President Bush seems to get frustrated in getting along with Russia on the Kosovo issue. Not to mention the fact that the negotiation about U.S. deploying an anti-missile system in the Czech Republic and Poland is still in limbo.
According to Europe Report No. 182, released by the International Crisis Group, “There is strong support from the major Western countries for the adoption of a resolution based on the full Ahtisaari plan. But it is also important to exhaust all reasonable opportunities to achieve the greatest unity possible within the Council, and most importantly, to avoid a Russian veto.”
Both Russia and its staunch ally, Serbia, have rejected the UN plan for Kosovo independence even though such plan is being supported by Kosovo Albanian. "We should think in terms of continued effort to find a mutually acceptable solution to the future of Kosovo," the Russian representative at the UN Vitaly Churkin said as quoted by BBC.
How to avoid a new Cold War should be prioritized, as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would likely to seek diplomatic means with a number of European allies towards this sensitive issue.
Leave Your Comments