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http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071208/FOREIGN/112080036/1001 The Washington Times Negotiations fail to settle Kosovo's fate By David R. Sands December 8, 2007 <javascript:NewWindow(600,400,'/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/templates/zoom.pbs&S ite=WT&Date=20071208&Category=FOREIGN&ArtNo=112080036&Ref=AR&Profile=1001'); > Not recognizing Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo may harm stability in Europe, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. _____ A diplomatic train wreck eight years in the making appeared all but certain yesterday as U.S., European and Russian mediators admitted failure in a last-ditch attempt to reach a deal in the volatile standoff over the fate of the Serbian province of Kosovo. "After 120 days of intensive negotiations, the parties were unable to reach an agreement on Kosovo's status," negotiators said in a report to be officially delivered Monday to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Neither side was willing to yield on the basic question of sovereignty," the mediators stated. In the face of Russian objections, NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels pledged to beef up a 16,000-member international peace force in Kosovo, whose Albanian majority appears determined to declare independence from Belgrade before the winter is out. The province has been in a kind of legal limbo since 1999, when NATO air strikes drove out the forces of then-Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, accused of atrocities and ethnic cleansing against the Kosovo Albanian community. Serbia, strongly backed by Moscow, has rejected the idea of Kosovo independence and a lengthy United Nations mediation program has failed to produce a compromise. The United States and leading European Union powers are expected to endorse a unilateral Kosovo declaration of independence, but there are huge questions marks over what happens next. Council on Foreign Relations European specialist Charles Kupchan said Kosovo right now is a "tense, ugly place." If Serbia resists Kosovo's attempt to break away — or if Serbian communities inside Kosovo reject the province's independence bid — "we could actually see bloodshed in the Balkans again next year," Mr. Kupchan said. Kosovo has unexpectedly become a flash point in the deteriorating relations between Russia and the West, with Moscow giving signs it would veto any bid by Kosovo to join the United Nations if it breaks with Belgrade. Russia and Serbia argue there is no precedent for the world body endorsing the secession of territory from a member-state without its approval. The U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the peacekeeping force now in Kosovo also explicitly recognizes Serbia's sovereignty, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday after meeting NATO ministers in Brussels. "Anybody who goes in contravention of this is on a very slippery downward slope," he warned. "It certainly won't help the stability of Europe." U.S. and EU officials argue that, given Serbia's record of violence and oppression, Kosovo's Albanian majority — an estimated 90 percent of the province's 2 million people — will never accept rule from Belgrade again. Many fear ethnic Albanians will turn to violence if they are left in limbo much longer. "We have to move on to the next step," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters after the NATO-Russia talks. "It is not going to produce stability in the Balkans to ignore the reality of the situation." The deadline for the last-ditch U.N. mediation effort expires Monday. Analysts say the Kosovo government will likely wait a few weeks before declaring independence, to give time for U.S. and European commanders to prepare for any violence. The Balkans is a region notorious for diplomatic and military chain reactions, and the Kosovo crisis is no exception. Some Serbian officials are already speculating that the Serb-dominated towns of northern Kosovo will reject independence, demanding to stay within Serbia. Western diplomats have warned against breaking up Kosovo, but former Serbian Premier Zoran Zivkovic said it may be the "only avenue" left to avoid major bloodshed. Mr. Kupchan said the ripples could quickly expand beyond that, with other enclaves in the Balkans demanding borders be redrawn, and other ethnic standoffs as far afield as Georgia, Russia and Azerbaijan citing the "Kosovo precedent" to demand their own state. • This article is based in part on wire service reports. __._,_.___ <http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97476590/grpId=12030090/grpspId=1705060375/msgI d=7574/stime=1197145659> __,_._,___
