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http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/embassy.htm The Washington Times World Embassy Row By James Morrison May 24, 2007 Kosovo clash A top negotiator for Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority said he detects some "Soviet nostalgia" in Russia's campaign to block a deal in the U.N. Security Council giving the province final independence from Serbia. "The Russians are clearly playing a game of nerves in the talks, which probably makes them feel a little nostalgic for the old days," said Ylber Hysa, a Kosovo lawmaker and a member of the delegation that arrived in New York last week for intensive talks on Kosovo's ultimate status. "It is a game that used to play very well." Mr. Hysa talked by phone with our correspondent David R. Sands yesterday. The United States and European Union strongly back a plan by Finnish mediator Martti Ahtisaari that would give the province functional independence from Serbia. The Bush administration argues that Kosovo will never accept Belgrade's rule after the 1999 NATO-led air war stopped a brutal ethnic-cleansing campaign ordered by Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic. But Serbia has rejected the Ahtisaari blueprint. Russia, a longtime ally of Belgrade, also has come out against partition but has not revealed whether it would use its veto in the Security Council to block the proposal. Mr. Hysa, a member of the moderate ORA party in Kosovo, said Russia's strategy appears to be to delay any U.N. action until at least next month when Group of Eight leaders convene in Germany. "That could set up a very interesting meeting between President Bush and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," Mr. Hysa said. Serbia's new pro-Western coalition government has said it could not survive in power if it permitted the loss of Kosovo. But Mr. Hysa noted that patience also is running out among Kosovo's Albanian majority, who have experienced violence and political uncertainty for more than 15 years. "We have been waiting a generation," he said. "If we do not get a resolution, there will be difficulties, perhaps violence, even provocations by radical elements to establish a fait accompli on the ground."
