AP Newsbreak: U.N. envoy recommends independence for Kosovo

The Associated Press
Published: March 26, 2007

PRISTINA, Serbia: The U.N. envoy for Kosovo says independence is "the
only viable option" for the province, according to a copy of his
report obtained by The Associated Press Monday.

Martti Ahtisaari, who mediated yearlong talks between ethnic Albanians
and Serbs, said that "upon careful consideration of Kosovo’s recent
history, the realities of Kosovo today, and taking into account
negotiations with the parties, I have come to the conclusion that the
only viable option for Kosovo is independence, to be supervised for an
initial period by the international community."

The 3 1/2-page report and his proposal will be delivered to the
U.N. Security Council later Monday.

It is the first time that Ahtisaari has explicitly mentioned
independence in a document dealing with province’s future.

Ahtisaari’s previously proposal provisions for Kosovo’s own
constitution, flag, anthem and army and rights to minority Serbs to
run their daily affairs, setting the stage for Kosovo’s statehood, but
did not use the word "independence."

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He handed over his proposal to ethnic Albanian and Serbian leaders in
February, "A return of Serbian rule over Kosovo would not be
acceptable to the overwhelming majority of the people of Kosovo,"
Ahtisaari wrote in his report to the Security Council. "Belgrade could
not regain its authority without provoking violent
opposition. Autonomy of Kosovo within the borders of Serbia however
notional such autonomy may be – is simply not tenable."

Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, when
NATO airstrikes ended a Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian
separatists. The U.N. plan, drafted by Ahtisaari, is an attempt to
resolve the final major dispute remaining after Yugoslavia’s bloody
1990s breakup.

Ethnic Albanian leaders have supported the plan, while Serbia’s
officials, opposed to the province’s secession, have rejected it,
saying it grants Kosovo de-facto independence.

In his report, Ahtisaari also said that continued international
administration was not sustainable and said that "independence with
international supervision is the only viable option."

"Independence is the only option for a politically stable and
economically viable Kosovo," Ahtisaari wrote.

The U.N. Security Council is to have the final say on the
plan. However, the council is split on the issue, with Russia
supporting Serbia while the United States and the European Union back
the U.N. plan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials have said that
granting Kosovo statehood could set a precedent for separatist regions
in former Soviet republics, such as South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which
broke away from control of the central government in Georgia in wars
in the early 1990s.