Serbia/Russia: Kosovo breakaway 'illegal'

The issue of Kosovo has received very little press play in the US. But I suspect this issue, and Bush's meddling in Central Asia, is why Putin is pulling away from the West. Russia's return to the stage as a world petrol power necessarily brings with it a willingness to stand up to the west and their traditional interests. I do believe Bush's actions in Central Asia, promoting pro-western governments was provocative to Putin and helped restart a cold war. Kosovo gives advantage to Putin politically by pointing at the encroaching west.
CNN.com

Serbian government officials said Thursday an independent Kosovo would be an illegal "false state" that will never be recognized by Serbia. The flurry of statements from Serbia's prime minister, deputy prime minister, and foreign minister came ahead of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, which is widely expected to happen in the next few days. "For us, any form of the declaration of the province's independence is illegal," said Serbian Foreign Affairs Minister Vuk Jeremic, in an official interview posted on the government's Web site. "Therefore, any such decision will be declared null and void."


The United States and European Union are expected to recognize Kosovo's independence, but Jeremic said Serbia never will because Kosovo remains a Serbian province. "I will never have any contact with illegal institutions of any illegally declared state, such as the so-called Kosovo state," Jeremic said. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica also said an independent Kosovo would be a "false state on our territory," and Serbia should not be expected to relinquish any part of it. Serbia views Kosovo as the spiritual birthplace of the Serbian nation. "The greatest humiliation for Serbia would be to give even indirect consent to the existence of this puppet creation on its territory," Kostunica said in a separate interview on the government site. "Kosovo belongs solely and only to Serbia," he said. "Kosovo is ours and we will never give it to anyone."
Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic held a meeting with European ambassadors Thursday and reiterated that Serbia would never recognize the independence of Kosovo, a government statement said.


At Serbia's request, the U.N. Security Council planned to hold a private debate later Thursday to discuss Kosovo's pending declaration. Kosovo has been under U.N. control since shortly after NATO warplanes forced out Serbian forces in 1999. NATO acted after Serbian forces repressed an uprising of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo with a brutal campaign that spawned reports of ethnic cleansing and sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of refugees.


Serbia's historic ally Russia also opposes independence and plans to use its position as a permanent Security Council member to veto any resolutions supporting Kosovo. In his final news conference as Russian president Thursday, Vladimir Putin questioned why Kosovo should receive the West's backing for independence when other separatist groups -- including the Basques in Spain -- and breakaway republics -- including the Turkish republic of Northern Cyprus -- have no support. Putin accused Europe of having double standards. "You've been always telling us Kosovo is allegedly a special case. That's not true, that's a lie," he said.


Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci has refused to compromise on independence.