KOSOVO

Moscow's stance hardens on Kosovo

Monday 25 February 2008

Russian deputy prime minister and presidential hopeful Dimitri Medvedev is on his way to Belgrade to reaffirm Russia's support of Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo. Laurent Rouy reports from Belgrade.

Monday 25 February 2008

By AFP

A week after Kosovo proclaimed independence, the move continues to feed Serbian anger and chill relations between independence naysayers Belgrade and Moscow and a pro-autonomy West.

Along with the United States, 23 of the 27 European Union members have so far backed Kosovo's independence, either formally recognising it or declaring their intention to do so.

Only Cyprus, Romania, Slovakia and Spain have explicitly refused to do either.

The recognition of the breakaway Serbian province has hardened Moscow's stance, with the foreign ministry accusing Washington Sunday of seeking to humiliate Serbia over Kosovo, ahead of a Monday visit to Belgrade by Russian Deputy Prime Minister and presidential hopeful Dmitry Medvedev.

The Russian statement followed a comment by US Assistant Secretary of State Nicholas Burns that Moscow was only aggravating tensions over the Kosovo issue.

Meanwhile, Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica called on Washington to "annul" its recognition and confirm Serbia's sovereignty over Kosovo, state television RTS reported Sunday.

As Serbia's chief ally in the standoff, Moscow has not ceased to denounce Kosovo independence, which Russian President Vladimir Putin described Friday as setting a "terrible precedent" that will come back to hit the West "in the face."

Putin's NATO representative Dmitry Rogozin said Moscow reserved the right to use force if the Atlantic alliance or the EU "defied" the UN on Kosovo, while his counter-terrorism pointman Anatoly Safonov suggested the independence move offered a green light for Islamic terrorists allegedly based in Kosovo.

For their part, Serbs have reacted bitterly to the loss of their province, considered an integral part of Serbia's sacred heartland.

On Thursday, more than 150,000 protesters poured into Belgrade's streets to demonstrate against Kosovo's independence. Rioters also set fire to the US embassy and targeted other Western missions that recognised the declaration.

Serbs also staged smaller demonstrations in Athens, Zurich and Vienna in recent days against Kosovo independence.

The Belgrade attacks have drawn strong condemnation by the international community, with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana warning the violent climate had put the break on talks between Serbia and Brussels on a cooperation accord.

But the threat appears to have produced little effect on Belgrade, where Serbia's pro-European president Boris Tadic is stymied by hard-line nationalist opponents.

While also accusing Moscow of "cynicism," Washington has generally opted for a cautious approach over Kosovo, hoping to win Russian support for new sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council.

Along with celebrations, violence has also shaken Kosovo this week, where Kosovo's Serbs have suggested splitting the northern region abutting Serbia, home to a third of their 120,000-strong population still in place.

Serbs have also destroyed two frontier posts between Serbia and the northern part of Kosovo and declared they would form their own parliament, with May 11 elections coinciding with those in Serbia.

Home to 80,000 Albanians in the south and 20,000 Serbians in the north, Kosovo's divided northern city of Kosovska Mitrovica is an example of the ethnic tensions at play.

Violent protests by the Serb minority forced the European Union to withdraw its staff from the city Saturday.

Nonetheless Kosovo's government is forging ahead to put meat to its independence declaration, having adopted several new laws and created a foreign affairs ministry.

Yet independent Kosovo will still be under international supervision for an undetermined period on when it comes to managing justice, police, financial and military matters.

Meanwhile, Kosovo has fanned secessionist fires elsewhere in the Balkans, with Bosnia's Serbs declaring they, too, had a right to break away.

And while the West argues Kosovo is no precedent, it is fueling hope on the part of other separatist movements in Europe and the former Soviet empire.