EDITORIAL/LETTERS TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2007
The Future of Kosovo
To the Editor :
Re “U.S. Diplomat Hints at Delay for Kosovo Independence” (news article, July 9): Delaying the resolution of Kosovo’s final status until next year is not just a “setback for Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leadership.” The credibility of the United States is on the line.
The December 2006 deadline set by Washington and Brussels for resolving Kosovo’s final status was abandoned when Belgrade persuaded the West to wait for the results of Serbia’s national elections in January. For America and Europe to propose now that the status quo must still be maintained in the hope that Moscow will drop its support for Belgrade’s opposition to Kosovo’s independence is beyond the pale.
Russia has been threatening to exercise its veto in the United Nations Security Council since the NATO air strikes against Serbia ended eight years ago. Until the United States stands up to Russia, the European Union will remain divided, and Kosovo’s status will not be resolved.
And until Kosovo becomes independent, like Serbia and the other juridical units of the former Yugoslavia, peace and stability in the Balkans will remain elusive.
SHIRLEY CLOYES DIOGUARDI
Ossining, N. Y., July 11, 2007
The writer is the Balkan affairs adviser to the Albanian American Civic League.