Vote on Independence for Kosovo Should Move Forward, Bush Says
10 June 2007
President also expresses support for Albania's desire to join NATO
Washington -- Many European Union members, as well as the United States and Albania, support U.N. special envoy Martti Ahtisaari's proposal for supervised independence for Kosovo, and now is the time to move forward on the issue, President Bush says.
"Independence is the result; let's get the process moving," Bush said in a joint press availability with Prime Minister Sali Berisha of Albania June 10.
A province of Serbia, Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, when NATO allies intervened to halt Serb attacks against ethnic Albanian separatists. Ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo’s population, seek independence while ethnic Serbs -- less than 10 percent -- want to remain a part of Serbia. Kosovo has deep cultural and religious connections for Serbs.
Under Ahtisaari's plan, Kosovar authorities would have the right to declare independence and make international agreements, but Kosovo would remain under the supervision of a senior European Union administrator with broad authority to annul laws or fire individuals found not to be cooperating with the terms of the U.N. peace settlement. The plan also would create a European mission to monitor police and judicial systems, and NATO would continue to police Kosovo’s borders and maintain internal peace until Kosovo established its own armed forces. (See related article.)
The United States is backing a U.N. Security Council resolution in support of the proposal. However, Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power, has expressed concerns about the measure, arguing that it lacks safeguards for minority ethnic Serbs and might be used as a precedent for resolving “frozen conflicts” in Moldova, Georgia and elsewhere along Russia's periphery. (See related article.)
The United States does not believe an independent Kosovo would serve as such a precedent. (See related article.)
"[M]ost people in the EU are very much in favor" of the Ahtisaari plan, Bush said. "They just hope that there is some way that we can reach an accommodation with a variety of interests, so that the transition to independence will be as smooth and easy as possible. But if it's apparent that that's not going to happen in a relatively quick period of time, in my judgment, we need to put forward the resolution."
Bush said the United States supports Serbia's "aspirations for closer integration with the West." Such integration would mean bilateral cooperation with the United States on economic development and other issues, as well as potential membership in NATO and the European Union, he said.
He said the United States also supports Albania's desire to join NATO and is committed to helping the country meet standards for membership.
"[P]art of becoming a member of NATO requires a reformation of the defense forces. And Albania is working hard to do that, as well as to meet performance-based standards for membership" by enacting political reforms, making progress against organized crime and corruption, and other improvements, he said.
Bush thanked Albania for its work in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Albanians know the horror of tyranny. And so they're working to bring the hope of freedom to people who haven't known it. And that's a noble effort, and a sacrifice," he said.
A transcript of Bush's joint press availability with Berisha is available on the White House Web site.
For more information on U.S. policies, see Southeast Europe.
(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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