17 February 2008

U.S. Consulting with European Partners on Kosovo Independence

NATO security forces will maintain safe, secure environment

By Merle D. Kellerhals
Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States welcomes the Kosovo government's commitment to implement the far-reaching provisions of a U.N. plan that includes supervised independence and protection for ethnic and religious communities, a senior U.S. official says.

The U.S. response came after the Kosovo parliament formally declared its independence earlier February 17 in Pristina.

"On Kosovo, our position is that its status must be resolved in order for the Balkans to be stable," President Bush said in Tanzania February 17 in advance of the announcement by the Kosovo parliament.

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said that the new government would be built in accordance with the plan put forward by U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president.  Under the Ahtisaari plan, Kosovo will be supervised by an international presence, its armed forces will be limited and it will make strong provisions for Serb minority protection.

Formal recognition by a number of European Union states and the United States was not expected before February 18.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington February 17 that the United States is now reviewing the issue and is discussing it with European partners.

"The United States has long believed that the Ahtisaari plan, including its recommendation of supervised independence for Kosovo, was the best way to promote regional stability and enable both Serbia and Kosovo to move forward on the Euro-Atlantic path," McCormack said.

McCormack said the United States calls on all parties to exercise restraint and "to refrain from any provocative acts."  NATO's Kosovo Security Force (KFOR) mission will continue to maintain a safe and secure environment for all communities in Kosovo, he said.

Bush said that the United States is "heartened by the fact that the Kosovo government has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian rights in Kosovo.  We also believe it's in Serbia's interests to be aligned with Europe, and the Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America."

Kosovo had formally remained part of Serbia, but had been administered by the United Nations and NATO since a war between Serbia and Kosovo ended in 1999.  Kosovo is still protected by approximately 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers.