http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=24&art_id=nw20070430140826965C473332
Agence France-Presse April 30, 2007 Kosovo 'free from Serbia' -"There is a very strong US commitment to do this," [Ceku] said, adding that, "It wants to finish the job. Britain's (prime minister) Tony Blair is on board, too." The European Union's German presidency was also likely to push for a quick resolution of Kosovo's status, Ceku said. "If Russia decides to use its veto (in the UN Security Council), there will be a declaration of independence in Kosovo, and the United States will recognise Kosovo the same day," Richard Holbrooke predicted.... -After the Serbian military left, some 220,000 Serb civilians in the province fled in the face of...attacks by ethnic Albanian extremists that killed dozens. Around 100,000 Serbs remain there. Paris - Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said he expected his disputed province to declare independence from Serbia by the end of May, in a New York Times interview published on Monday. Ceku said there was strong international support for the move even though Kosovo's final status has yet to be agreed by the UN Security Council and Russia has threatened to veto a current plan. "I expect Kosovo to be able to declare its independence by the end of May," Ceku told the paper. "There is a very strong US commitment to do this," he said, adding that, "It wants to finish the job. Britain's (prime minister) Tony Blair is on board, too." The European Union's German presidency was also likely to push for a quick resolution of Kosovo's status, Ceku said. "With the G-8 meeting due to take place in June, I don't think Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will want G-8 countries to attend the summit without resolving Kosovo's status." Former US envoy to the Balkans and the UN, Richard Holbrooke, said at the weekend that Washington could unilaterally recognise Kosovo's independence even if Russia vetoes such a move at the United Nations. "If Russia decides to use its veto (in the UN Security Council), there will be a declaration of independence in Kosovo, and the United States will recognise Kosovo the same day," Richard Holbrooke predicted during a conference in Brussels, adding that he believed several EU states would follow suit. The ethnic Albanian dominated province in southern Serbia has been under UN administration since mid-1999, after Nato bombing helped to drive out Serbian forces.... Its future status is expected finally to be determined in coming weeks as the UN Security Council begins a debate on UN special envoy Martti Ahtisaari's plan to hand increasingly impatient ethnic Albanians their wish for statehood. The Ahtisaari proposals, drafted after he led a year of mostly fruitless talks between Belgrade and Pristina, would grant Kosovo internationally supervised independence, including its own constitution, flag and anthem. The proposals have the backing of the United States, the European Union, and leaders of ethnic Albanians, who comprise around 90 percent of Kosovo's two million inhabitants. However Serbia, which sees the province as its historic heartland and has won support from Russia, has rejected Ahtisaari's proposals as a violation of its territorial integrity. "Russia is using Kosovo to prove it is a player," Ceku claimed in the New York Times interview, adding that he expected to achieve independence for the province even if Moscow tries to block the resolution. "Our friends who are realistic and countries that have invested soldiers, money and eight years of engagement here, and who are planning to be present, want an end to this unresolved status," he said. "Why should those countries which have not invested time, money and people here block a UN resolution? Saying no to the Ahtisaari proposal would be a big decision." Ceku insisted that Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and others countering independence for Kosovo were not working in Serbia's best interest. "There are Serbian leaders, radicals and politicians who are using Kosovo as a propaganda hit for them," Ceku said. "On the other side, you have moderate young people who are tired of all these old stories about Kosovo. They want to look forward and join Europe. Serbia is being blocked by the old past," he added. After the Serbian military left, some 220,000 Serb civilians in the province fled in the face of...attacks by ethnic Albanian extremists that killed dozens. Around 100,000 Serbs remain there. "The biggest service Kostunica could do for the Kosovo Serbs is to let them go," Ceku said. "As soon as he understands it then he will be a great patriot."
