Neocon regime seeks to tear away Serbian province
BELGRADE, Serbia-Serbia’s prime minister said his nation was outraged by the United States’ support for an independent Kosovo, after U.S. President George W. Bush said during a stop in neighboring Albania that there could not be endless dialogue on the matter.
In a strongly worded statement broadcast Monday on national television, Vojislav Kostunica blasted what he termed “U.S. affection and love” toward Kosovo Albanians who are seeking to split from Serbia.
“America must find another way to show its affection and love for the Albanians, without offering them Serb territories,” Kostunica said. “Serbia is rightfully outraged at the American policies on the issue of Kosovo.”
Kostunica repeated that Serbia will never recognize any form of independence for its cherished southern province.
The prime minister’s comments were in response to Bush’s press for Kosovo statehood during his stop in Albania on Sunday. Bush said there cannot be endless dialogue about achieving independence for Kosovo.
“At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you’ve got to say ‘Enough is enough. Kosovo is independent’ and that’s the position we’ve taken,” Bush said at a news conference on Sunday.
On Monday, during a visit to Bulgaria, Bush reiterated that “America believes that Kosovo ought to be independent.”
“As we seek independence for Kosovo, we’ve also got to make it clear to Serbia that there’s a way forward, maybe in NATO, maybe in the EU, and definitely in better relations with the United States,” he added.
Serbia’s breakaway southern province has been a U.N. protectorate since the end of the war between Serb forces and ethnic Albanian rebels in 1999. Efforts to resolve its formal status resulted in a U.N. plan for internationally supervised independence.
Russia, siding with Serbia’s bid to keep Kosovo at least formally within its boundaries, opposes the plan, while the U.S. and the European Union support it.
http://www.serbianna.com/news/2007/01797.shtml