Macedonian Prime Minister Vlado Buckovski, in Washington for talks with President Bush and U.S. officials, says he believes Kosovo and Serbia will reach agreement on conditional independence for the southern Serbian province. Mr. Buckovski spoke during a news conference at VOA's Washington studio.
With the negotiations on Kosovo's future status about to begin, Mr. Buckovski expressed confidence that the leaders of Serbia and its predominantly Albanian province of Kosovo will reach agreement during the course of 2006.
"I'm expecting hard negotiations," he noted. "But from the other side I'm optimistic about the prospects of a compromise between Belgrade and Pristina. I'm expecting that in 2006 Belgrade and Pristina will find a solution on the final status of Kosovo."
Mr. Buckovski has reason to be interested in developments in Kosovo. Macedonia lies on the southern border of the province and his coalition includes an ethnic- Albanian party with close links to ethnic-Albanian leaders in Pristina, capital of Kosovo.
The Macedonian prime minister believes the basis of a compromise lies in Pristina's understanding that the rights of the minority Serbs in the province, as well as their religious shrines, must be protected.
Serbian leaders, he adds, must also understand that failure to negotiate seriously over Kosovo will jeopardize Serbia's goal to eventually join the European Union.
Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has proposed that Kosovo should have a status somewhere between autonomy and independence. Mr. Buckovski expressed support for that position.
"By my opinion, Kostunica's statement about Kosovo: More than autonomy, less than independence, is a step forward concerning a possible compromise between Belgrade and Pristina," he noted. "And definitely, [in] my opinion, some kind of conditional independence, probably, will be a first step in a possible compromise between Belgrade and Pristina together with the international community."
The Kosovo negotiations are due to start in early November. They will be led by a European diplomat assisted by U.S. and Russian deputies. In 1999, a NATO bombing campaign in support of ethnic Albanians forced a Serbian military withdrawal from the province. Since then, Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations with a NATO-led force providing security.
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13 comments:
Here goes Macedonia. Independence is a good way to start.
Although I don't have close sources, I have to disagree with the Macedonian leader. A solution will be impossed rather than agreed. Just refer back to 6 years ago when Milosevic had his country bombed with some $50 billion in damages and alienated Albanians even further just to show his people that he tried. Did he think he could win the war? It's just the way it works with Serbs and their leaders: bomb the shit out of them and they will accept whatever you want. It's a perfect example of "trying counts" adage and a pathological case of holding the capabilities of ones self ( and country) beyond any resonable level.
I do agree with you on the part about the mentality of the serbian people ( some of them, not all though), but as an Albanian Kosovar I feel that there should be some kind of an agreement, because after all we ra neighbors, and we'll have to live with each other. In conclusion, i think the serbian gov will have to agree to at least conditional independace.
Serbs do not have to agree on anything. Its not up to them, its between the US, EU and Albanians.
For all the damage Serbia has done, independence for Kosovo is minimum.
Hey all, just wanted to let you know that it's hilarious to see the serbs squirm and run around. One thing that the Macedonian P.M. said which is true is that serbia has to remember that joining the EU is on the line. It's a slap in serbias face to have all of the other former yugo republics support Kosovas independance. And once Kosova is independant Crna Gorna(Montenegro) will seek to become independant of serbia.Let's all sing the tune of NA NA NA NA, NA NA NA NA HEY HEY HEY GOODBYE.
Ivan,Macedonia
:))
That's a good one, Ivan.
i cant wait for both to go!! really. this is 100% true, dont u all agree?:
Vodeći nemački konzervativni dnevnik „Frankfurter algemajne cajtung“ ocenio je da bi za Srbiju povoljno rešenje bila zapravo „nezavisnost od Kosova“.
Prema oceni nemačkog dnevnika, ako bi Kosovo ostalo unutar srpskih granica, u Srbiji bi tada živelo oko 10 miliona stanovnika, od čega bi „dva miliona bilo neprijateljski nastrojeno“.
„Svake godine na Kosovu na hiljade, delom loše obrazovanih mladih ljudi, dolazi na tržište rada koje ne može da ih primi. Srbija bi narasla za još jedan nerazvijeni region u koji bi morala da investira i čiji bi teret dugova morala da snosi. U potrazi sa plativim zemljištem, kosovski Albanci bi mogli, kao građani zajedničke države, iz svog gusto naseljenog zavičaja da prodru u delove južne Srbije, kojima već sada dominiraju Albanci i iz kojih se decenijama Srbi sele“, piše FAZ
Serbia expects $2 billion in 2005 foreign investment
Associated Press
October 8, 2005 -- Foreign investors have pumped $725 million into Serbian economy in the first six months of 2005 and if the trend persists, say experts, Serbia will easily top $1.5 billion in foreign investment for the year.
A rosier picture, however, is presented by the Serbian Minister of Finance Mladjan Dinkic.
According to Dinkic, foreign investment should reach $2 billion by the end of the year. Robust foreign investment funds inflow has offset Serbia's growing imports that drain foreign reserves, says the Minister. As a result of the increase of net inflows of foreign currency, Serbian central bank, NBS, says that the banking system has $5.2 billion versus $360 million held before.
Serbian Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic
Dinkic: "Serbia is a hit among investors in Washington"
Banking dominated the investment transfers into Serbia marked by entrance of big European banks into Serbian banking market.
Some economists see the investment trend that favors financial sector at the expense of investments into industry as an unsustainable, and perhaps a threatening one.
"Closed market, weak competition and persistence of monopoly are the reasons that bring foreign investors to Serbia," says Miroslav Prokopijevic, president of the Free Markets Center.
To be competitive, Prokopijevic says that Serbia has to slash taxes and number of taxable items and then reduce tariffs that are twice the size the average in the EU. Making the national currency, the dinar, competitive versus the Euro, says Prokopijevic, would prevent the Serbian central Bank from printing money. He did not specify whether dinar should be floated or remain pegged as is right now.
Serbian inflation is expected to reach 14% in 2005. In an attempt to stem the inflationary tides, Serbian NBS Governor last week raised the required reserves on banks from 7 to 18% with an announcement that by the end of the year the reserve requirement will be raised to 29%.
Increasing the reserve requirement forces banks to keep more of deposited money into vaults as oppose to lending it to the public and thus increasing inflation. Absence of capital markets in Serbia makes the reserve requirement the only credible instrument of monetary control.
Privatization has been the dominant driver behing the inflow of foreign funds into Serbia.
Privatization has thus far brought about 20 technological and industrial multinationals into Serbia. US Steel and Microsoft are one of the most noticeable ones. Foreign capital is present in 103 of the formerly state owned firms in Serbia.
Critics point that more reform is necessary in order to make foreign investment inflow sustainable because once state owned properties are sold off they question whether current legal and institutional framework is optimal to sustain investment growth.
To make the robust upward trend in the foreign investment sustainable in Serbia, argue critics, business friendly reforms must be instituted fast. Reform of the pension, insurance and investment fund laws is often cited as one such urgent reform matter. New rules for investment funds would stimulate capital formation by making the capital markets more efficient and secure to pool the investment capital domestically.
"It is important to assure passage of all the laws and that, within the judicial system of Serbia, institutions function properly," says Daniel Sukovic, director of the Center for Economic Research.
"Reducing corruption is paramount because those who have the capital despise corruption and don't invest," says Sukovic.
Like many of the formerly communist states of the Balkans, Serbia is also plagued by corruption.
In Albania, where corruption has reached acute levels, recent elections show that a mere promise to tackle corruption can be politically victorious and sufficient enough to attract Brussels to sign an EU association agreement.
In Serbia, however, fight against corruption has a grass roots component. Recently, for example, Verica Barac, president of the Council for fight against corruption, has been vocal in exposing the potentially massive fraud surrounding the savings bank, Nacionalna Stedionica.
"Foundation of 'Nacionalna Stedionica' was a deceit because it was foundation of a private bank that got from the State of Serbia free of charge premises and salaries for 750 employees during a period of one year. The State also gave to this private bank an exclusive right of payment of the old hard currency savings." charges Barac.
Nacionalna Stedionica was formed during the rule of Slobodan Milosevic and it is alleged that the bank was one among the privileged ones in the Milosevic regime through which the regime controlled the Serbian currency black market in order to raise hard currency and enrich themselves by dumping freshly printed Dinar on the streets where thugs bought off hard currency with it triggering massive hyperinflation in the country. Nacionalna Stedionica was sold off to a Greek bank, but other unresolved allegations may drag this deal into courts.
Serbian Justice Minister Zoran Stojkovic says that he is ready to confront corruption and cited recent arrests of a Serbian Supreme Court judge and the deputy of the Special Prosecutor as examples of that readiness. Minister Stojkovic argues that these arrests will increase confidence in Serbian legal institutions.
World Bank also says that Serbia is on course to fulfill majority of Millennium goals of development but none of those goals are corruption. World Bank says that by 2015 Serbia will decrease poverty, death rate at deliveries and improve education and AIDS prevention.
Serbia is indeed on the road to reduction of poverty. Five years ago, when the Milosevic regime was finally toppled, GDP per capita was $829 and inflation was 120%. Now, per capita GDP is $3,000.
To many Serbs, however, these improvements are not enough and many view the decade of 1990s as the wasted one.
"People do no compare these [recent] achievements with where they were 5 years ago but where they were 15 years ago," recently acknowledged Serbian Deputy Premier Miroljub Labus, whose political party also controls the Ministry of Finance and is responsible for many of the economic reforms in Serbia.
Sustaining the success in economic reforms in Serbia also depends on the outcome of the status talks on the Serbian Province of Kosovo that is currently administered by the UN. Kosovo Albanians that comprise a majority in that province demand independence and have said that if they don't get it they will use violence against the UN and the remaining Serbs that they have not expelled yet.
The ultimate decision on the status of that province, however, rests with the Contact Group comprised of US, Russia, France, Italy and UK.
Kosovo is still largely a lawless land and granting independence to that province may unravel 5 years of reforms in Serbia. Decision on Kosovo is expected in 2006.
October 8, 2005 12:56 PM (04:56 GMT)
I CANT WIAT FOR IT TO BECOME INDEPENDENT SO SERBIA CAN ONCE AND FOR ALL WIN ITS BATTLE WITH CANCER!
So what the fuck are you doing here writting bull shit.
YOu want the same thing as we want, INDEPENDENCE......
Go fuck yourself. Get a life
I WNAT U TO JUST ADMIT THAT YOU ARE GETTING SOMETHING THAT WAS NEVER YOURS YOU SCUM OF THE EARTH!
You can't have everything you want.But you can ask santa claus tu fullfill your wishes.Wait maybe you will get nothing because you serbs have been the scum of the earth even this year.Try next year.
Ok, I have to admit. Martyr probably went home from school today and found that his mom wasn't there. I had her and I'll give it back to him tomorrow.
9.09 blogger. Dont be to cocky. I have "done" about 40 of you "vaisas". And they loved it !!!
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