Bush says U.N. must act now on Kosovo

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Bush says U.N. must act now on Kosovo
Sat Jun 9, 2007 3:53PM EDT

By Tabassum Zakaria

ROME (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Saturday the
U.N. Security Council must act now on a plan to grant Kosovo
supervised independence, which Russia opposes.

The Group of Eight summit in Germany that ended on Friday failed
to reach consensus on the future of the Serbian province of
Kosovo, where the majority ethnic Albanians are pushing for a U.N.
vote on independence.

Russia rejected a French plan to delay a U.N. Security Council vote
in exchange for recognition that Kosovo would eventually have to
be independent.

The United States supports a proposal by U.N. mediator Martti
Ahtisaari which offers Kosovo independence under international
supervision, but Russia has threatened to veto any vote.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN0942441120070609

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Source: Reuters

Russia "pleased" it foiled Kosovo independence at G8
09 Jun 2007 19:35:19 GMT
Source: Reuters

ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 9 (Reuters) - Russia, which blocked
Kosovo's bid for independence from Serbia, assured Serbia on
Saturday of its continued support, saying it was pleased other
G8 nations were taking its arguments seriously.

In a public setback for Western leaders who back Kosovo's bid for
independence and who are pushing for action this month, Russian
President Vladimir Putin refused on Friday to back down from his
insistence there can be no resolution of the province's status
without the agreement of Serbia.

Putin said after a G8 summit of the world's major industrialised
nations on Friday that undermining Serbia's sovereignty "does not
correspond to moral or legal norms".

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Saturday the United Nations
Security Council must act now on a plan to grant Kosovo supervised
independence.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09687843.htm

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Also: Putin: Moscow Still Against Kosovo Independence - VOA

[applegrove]

1. So * needs the UN now.

:argh:

[Hand]

2. UN sez:

[jeff30997]

3. LOL!

[rayofreason]

4. Russia...

...as the protector of the Serbs.

Plus ca change, plus la meme chose.

[nealmhughes]

8. No joke! Is Putin trying to thwart the Ballplatz or just DC?

Sounds like something out of the 19th Century or early 20th, eh?

[Rydz777]

5. I am not sure what business Bush has in intervening in the

Kosovo question. He also is insisting that the EU should admit Turkey as a member. This strikes me as a matter for the EU, not the US. It would make as much sense for the EU to jump into the question of the US's "Comprehensive Immigration Bill." We seem to have reached the point where we think we have a vote on every issue that arises in the world, that everybody else's business is our business.

[Eugene]

6. Kosovo is administered by the UN and secured by NATO

and has been since the military intervention in 1999.
Separating Kosovo from Serbia against Serbia's will,
if it comes to that, is an issue for the UN Security
Council.

[David__77]

9. If true, then there will be no Kosovo independence.

The UN security council not ever approve it, if only because Russia will of course veto it.

[Kagemusha]

7. That's what Rice thinks of as 'global leadership'.

Guiding the world towards the outcomes the US thinks are good. For itself. And what's good for the US is good for the world.

[moondust]

11. Grasping at straws.

He can't do anything else so they're finally down to looking for odd jobs.

[David__77]

10. What the hell is "supervised independence?!"

Why not just call it "UN colony?" It would be more honest.