Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

US, EU Will Back Kosovo Secession

Rice insists independence from Serbia is only option

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 25, 2007 12:42 PM CDT
Email

(Newser) – The Bush administration and the EU will support an independent Kosovo with or without a UN-backed plan. Serbs and Kosovo Albanians will conduct a last round of negotiations on the breakaway country's status before a Dec. 10 deadline. If that deadline passes, Kosovo will declare independence and the US and EU will immediately recognize it, the Times reports.

"There’s going to be an independent Kosovo," Condoleezza Rice said in an interview yesterday. Kosovo, administered as a UN protectorate since the 1999 air raid to end Serbian violence against ethnic Albanians, has pushed for independence. But the Serbian government has refused, and Vladimir Putin has also signaled his reluctance to recognize the breakaway province.

Debris covers the street where a powerful blast ripped through Kosovo's capital early Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, killing two and injuring eleven others, officials said. The explosion took place in a shopping mall in the city center. Last month police ransacked one of the shops and arrested several ethnic Albanians...
Debris covers the street where a powerful blast ripped through Kosovo's capital early Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, killing two and injuring eleven others, officials said. The explosion took place in a shopping...   (Associated Press)
A U.S soldier from National Guard, Ohio, left, and a Serbian soldier exchange insignia after a joint military exercise at a military airfield in Nis, southern Serbia, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. The joint U.S-Serbian military exercise is the first since the U.S led NATO alliance launched airstrikes...
A U.S soldier from National Guard, Ohio, left, and a Serbian soldier exchange insignia after a joint military exercise at a military airfield in Nis, southern Serbia, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. The joint...   (Associated Press)
TO GO WITH NEBI QENA STORY SLUGGED - BC-EU-GEN--KOSOVO-HEADSCARF BAN- A police officer guards Kosovo's government building, as a mosque is reflected on the windows in this file photo taken March 3, 2007. This week three students were suspended from school in Kosovo for wearing Muslim head scarves. Kosovo is...
TO GO WITH NEBI QENA STORY SLUGGED - BC-EU-GEN--KOSOVO-HEADSCARF BAN- A police officer guards Kosovo's government building, as a mosque is reflected on the windows in this file photo taken March 3, 2007....   (Associated Press)
U.S soldiers from National Guard, Ohio, and a Serbian soldier,center, disembark from an MI-8 helicopter during a joint military exercise at a military airfield in Nis, southern Serbia, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. The joint U.S-Serbian military exercise is the first since the U.S led NATO alliance...
U.S soldiers from National Guard, Ohio, and a Serbian soldier,center, disembark from an MI-8 helicopter during a joint military exercise at a military airfield in Nis, southern Serbia, Thursday, Sept....   (Associated Press)
Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State speaks at a high-level event on climate change titled Innovating a climate-friendly world
Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State speaks at a high-level event on climate change titled "Innovating a climate-friendly world   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Be the first to comment on this story.

Rice on Kosovo independence
B92 (Serbia)

Bomb explodes in Kosovo's capital
Independent (UK)

Rice looks to Kosovo to stabilize Balkans
Reuters

World • US

 
Bush administration • United Nations • Serbia • Condoleezza Rice • Kosovo

More Newser Stories

UN Acquits Serb Leader

Bush Demands Action Against Zimbabwe

UN Cop Killed in Kosovo Riots

UN Forces Withdraw From Kosovo Town

Serbs Storm UN's Kosovo Courthouse
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne