On a visit to the Serbian capital of Belgrade yesterday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle delivered a message to the country: If you want you bid to join the European Union to succeed, you will have to get used to the existence of an independent Kosovo.
Westerwelle delivered the advice to an audience of university students in Belgrade, but its primary audience ws Serbian government leaders who publicly show little interest in accepting Kosovo independence.
Westerwelle told the students, "A day will come for representatives of Belgrade and Pristina to sit at the same table and speak about the EU. It may now seem like a utopia for you, but it can be achieved. Reconciliation can succeed if you face reality. Independent Kosovo is a reality and the opinion of the International Court of Justice has uniquely confirmed it. The map of southeastern Europe has been laid down and completed."
The International Court of Justice ruled last month that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 did not violate international law and thus was valid.
Serbia publicly opposed to Kosovo freedom but said to be privately ready to deal
Officially, Serbia remains unwilling to agree with Westerwelle. After meeting with the German foreign minister, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said, "We are ready for a constructive dialogue with everyone, especially our European partners ... but we won't accept any changes [of United Nations resolution 1244 on Kosovo] that would give Kosovo an independent status." The UN is set to discuss next month a Serbian-drafted resolution to nullify the ICJ decision.
However, Balkan observers say that Serbia is privately ready to make a deal on Kosovo that would recognize its independence in exchange for land swaps and protection of Serbian churches in Kosovo. The possible deal would involve swapping predominantly Serb territory in northern Kosovo for predominantly Albanian territory in southern Serbia, plus a guarantee of autonomy for Serbian Orthodox churches in Kosovo.
"There is a greater sense of political realism on the Kosovo issue today ... to the point that some officials appear to be looking creatively for ways to free Serbia honourably from the burden Kosovo has become," the International Crisis Group, a leading NGO, said in a report on Thursday.
"Neither Pristina nor Belgrade proposes this openly, but officials in both capitals have begun to speak of it quietly."
Such a deal would likely grease the skids for both states to join the EU. So would Serbia's arrest of indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, who is widely believed to be hiding in Serbia.
Source: EUobserver.com
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