Kosovo's future

The international negotiations on the future of the Serbian province of Kosovo, with its mainly Albanian population, have been resumed in Vienna. Guest commentator Andrej Ivanji is sceptical about the outcome of the negotiations. "Formal independence would do nothing to solve the catastrophic social situation or the widespread unemployment in Kosovo, which is already de facto independent of Serbia... The UN Security Council will make the final decision on Kosovo's status. The international community will seek to oblige the Kosovo Albanians because to provoke their dissatisfaction would be to jeopardise the future of the international peace mission in Kosovo, and because in the short term they're more important for maintaining stability in the region than weak, war-weary Serbia. Because what's at stake here is not just Kosovo's status, but the Albanian issue all over the Balkan region, including southern Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Greece. Long-term peace would secure EU membership for the entire Balkan region."

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