(8 May 2006) MCCAIN FINDS INDEPENDENT KOSOVO INEVITABLE. (Balkan Watch)

• 2006-05-23
• Europa in de wereld

At the Brussels Forum conference sponsored by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, possible presidential contender Sen. John McCain announced that an independent Kosovo is “inevitable.” Discussing the Balkans in the context of transatlantic relations, McCain suggested that the EU could reduce tensions in the region by offering Serbia an accelerated path to membership, while Kosovo progresses toward its own independence by complying with international standards. McCain did not give a timeline for Kosovo’s independence. He noted that this plan would conclude the transatlantic community’s “greatest democracy project since the end of the Cold War.” Recent Kosovo final status talks in Vienna have focused on the status of Mitrovica, a multiethnic town in northern Kosovo. Various officials have suggested that the town be divided between Kosovo Serbs and Albanians. Kosovo Albanian officials, however, have rejected the town’s division. Meanwhile, American Vice President Dick Cheney, while making a stop in Croatia, announced his support for Croatian, Macedonian, and Albanian accession into NATO and the EU. Cheney met with leaders of the three countries at an Atlantic Charter conference in Dubrovnik.