Russia warned Kosovo's leaders that if they declare independence the territory will never become a member of the UN or other international political institutions.
The US and Britain countered on Wednesday by reaffirming their support for Kosovo's drive for independence from Serbia, a close ally of Russia.
The future status of Kosovo, a province of Serbia that has been run by the UN and NATO since 1999, was not on the Security Council's official agenda on Wednesday. The council was supposed to discuss a report on the UN Mission in Kosovo, but instead the two sides replayed their debate last month on independence versus autonomy for the Serb province and neither side budged.
With Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders expected to declare independence as early as next month, the stakes were high and the key players sent their top leaders -- Serbian President Boris Tadic and Kosovo's newly elected Prime Minister Hashim Thaci -- to make their case again to the UN's most powerful body.
Tadic echoed Russia's call for further negotiations, saying a solution that would both provide autonomy and guarantee rights for Kosovo Albanians was "possible and attainable."
He said Serbia had become a peaceful democracy and there was no reason it should be "unjustly punished again" because of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists a decade ago.
But Thaci told the council that Kosovo has laid the foundations to be a democratic state and independence is a "first step to regional success and our integration in the European family," according to a copy of his speech.
Later, he told reporters: "Very soon we will take a decision and we hope that very soon [the] international community will recognize us -- Washington, Britain and other states."
After the Dec. 19 Security Council debate, US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad declared the views of the two sides "irreconcilable," and said it was time for an independent Kosovo, a stand backed by Britain, France and most members of the EU.
On Wednesday, Khalilzad told reporters: "We know where we are heading. There is no change with regard to the fact that the council is blocked."
Britain's UN Ambassador John Sawers agreed that "nothing's changed."
"I don't think there's any prospect of further negotiations, so we need to plan ahead and the European Union's made clear its approach," he said. "There will be a further discussion among EU foreign ministers on Saturday."
But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the future of Kosovo was a Security Council issue and not an issue concerning EU leaders.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS