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Wisner: Russian Opposition to Kosovo Independence 'Unbelievably Regrettable'

Council on Foreign Relations

Interviewee: Frank G. Wisner, Vice Chairman, External Affairs, AIG Inc.
Interviewer: Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor

February 12, 2008

Frank G. Wisner, the current U.S. representative to the Kosovo status talks, says the impending declaration of independence by the Serb province will have both “positive and not so positive” repercussions. On the positive side, he says it will bring a just end to the brutal war launched by Serbs against Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian majority population. But he predicts Serbia will never recognize an independent Kosovo and says Russia’s heated opposition is “unbelievably regrettable.” Wisner holds out hope there will be no organized violence associated with the impending declaration.

It’s widely reported that Kosovo will announce a declaration of independence this weekend. How soon do you expect the United States and the major European countries to recognize its independence?

I expect in very short order, as we have made clear over the months, the United States will recognize the independent Kosovo. And I expect a heavy percentage of the European Union including many of the larger states will recognize [it] right away. Others will come in over a bit of time. Some may not at all. For example Cyprus and Romania have made it clear that they don’t like this idea at all, and aren’t going to move in that direction. So has China. But I would imagine by early next week, you will see a generous outreach of international acceptance of the fait accompli. This will not happen without consequences—there will be many issues to be dealt with.

Like what?

There is a constitution to pass. But that will go through pretty quickly. And then there will be steps to reach out to NATO, the European Union, other international bodies, and I expect all that will happen very quickly. It’s all very carefully planned.

Read the rest of this article on the cfr.org website.

Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. This material is republished on GlobalSecurity.org with specific permission from the cfr.org. Reprint and republication queries for this article should be directed to cfr.org.