In Balkans, Fears of Renewed Strife
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Fears grew of renewed conflict in the Balkans after ethnic Albanian leaders in Kosovo warned they may declare independence unilaterally if their statehood was not internationally sanctioned soon.
Prime Minister Haziri of Kosovo said over the weekend that he would “not rule out” a unilateral declaration to split from Serbia after the failure of last week’s G–8 summit to resolve the issue.
Srdjan Djuric, an adviser to Serbia’s Prime Minister Kostunica, said yesterday it was “absolutely clear” that the U.N. Security Council could not pass Kosovo’s independence.
President Bush, in Albania yesterday, acknowledged the danger, saying he was “worried about expectations not being met in Kosovo.” The status of Kosovo, which is traditionally crucial to Serbs despite its population being 90% ethnic Albanian, has been in limbo for almost a decade. After the 1999 war between the Serb army and Albanian independence fighters, it fell to the United Nations to run the province of 2 million people.
