Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Senior US official to head to Balkans next week

(AFP) - US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns is due to visit the Balkans next week, the State Department announced.

Kosovo's final status is "an important question that is before us. And it is before the international community," said Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman.

"Undersecretary Burns will be traveling to the region I believe next week," he said without elaborating.

Burns visited Kosovo in May.

Over 17,000 NATO-led peacekeepers from 35 nations are responsible for peace and security in the UN run province.

Ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo came under United Nations control in June 1999 after NATO forces bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days in a bid to end a brutal crackdown by Serb forces on separatist Albanians.

The key issue in the status negotiations, finally taking place more than six years after the Kosovo war ended, is whether or not the Serbian province should be allowed to become independent.

Pristina says it is not even willing to discuss the subject with Belgrade, which remains vehemently opposed to any form of independence.

The United States hoped the final status can be resolved by next year.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Poor Burns...making his "the US still cares" trip to Kosovo before we turn it over completely to the EU. Hilarious.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree, the US is completely consumed with Iraq, The global war on terror and the hurricane disasters to give to shits about Kosovo and Metohija.

"EU its in your backyard you take care of it. said Bush"

Anonymous said...

opps, I met "two" shits.

Anonymous said...

Burns GO HOME! If you come you'll burn...