International Conflict, Western World Threats and Geopolitical Intelligence
PRISTINA, Kosovo | Days before the West begins one of the most ambitious nation-building experiments in modern history, profound questions remain about how the day-to-day governance of Kosovo will be handled.
Kosovo now has its own government. But the U.N. mission that effectively ruled the former province of Serbia since 1999 is still here.
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Video: Kosovo: [...]
‘It Is not Us but Europe that Needs to Face Reality’
The next Serbian government could include Tomislav Nikolic, the leader of the ultra-nationalists. In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, he shows himself uncompromising on the question of Kosovo and even raises the spectre of a new war in the Balkans. more…
Serbian Election: A Setback for [...]
A more plausible explanation of Russia’s propaganda offensive and increase in the numbers of both regular and irregular forces in Abkhazia is not fear of a Georgian attack, but plans for the opposite: an attempt to retake the Kodori Gorge. This would humiliate, perhaps topple, Georgia’s pro-Western president, Mikheil Saakashvili. Russia would see it as [...]
Europe’s youngest nation already has problems. Violent Serbs in Belgrade are protesting Kosovo’s independence, and the Serbian government has demanded €220 billion in damages. Can the little state last? By Rüdiger Falksohn and Renate Flottau more…
Breakaway Role Model: Separatist Movements Seek Inspiration in Kosovo
Ephemeral Enlargement: False EU Promises for the Balkans
KREMLIN CONTINUES TO BLAST THE [...]
LONDON – MI6 agents have monitored secret meetings between top Serbian officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s anointed successor, Dmitry Medvedev, to discuss the installation of Russian nuclear missiles to contribute to what he told a Moscow election rally this weekend would “help to ensure Serbian security.”
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What is the hardest to believe — but is, of course, possible — is that Putin simply will allow the Kosovo issue to pass. He clearly knew this was coming. He maintained vocal opposition to it beforehand and reiterated his opposition afterward. The more he talks and the less he does, the weaker he appears [...]
Russia backed its ally Serbia on Sunday in condemning Kosovo’s declaration of independence and called for the United Nations to annul the move, which the Serbian prime minister said had been accomplished to further U.S. military goals.
The immediate U.S. response to the long-anticipated decision to formally split from Serbia was muted by comparison, with the [...]
Russia held a high-level meeting with the leaders of two breakaway republics in Georgia on Friday, and vowed to increase its support for the separatists if Kosovo declared its independence and was recognized by the West.The meeting, coupled with vocal warnings in Russia’s Parliament that it would react strongly to a declaration of independence by [...]
A tense quiet holds in Kosovo a few days before the expected declaration of independence. NATO peacekeepers say they have the situation under control. And the EU mission, which is supposed to foster social harmony, is already standing at the ready. By Erich Rathfelder in Pristina more…
Pro-Western Incumbent Wins Presidency: Tadic Victory Could Topple Fragile Coalition in [...]
Eager to wield power, Moscow warns against the Serbian province’s independence bid, but seems to be ignored.
The looming independence of Kosovo and promises of quick U.S. and European recognition have undercut and infuriated Russia at a moment when this oil-rich behemoth is eager to show that its global clout has been restored, analysts say.
Russian officials [...]
Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, which looked like a diplomatic done deal just a few weeks ago, is under increasing fire from critics in the United States and Europe as the expected declaration of independence draws near.
The Bush administration and the European Union yesterday both warmly welcomed the election of Serbian moderate Boris Tadic over an [...]
Attempting to impose a settlement on Serbia would be a direct challenge to the Russian Federation, which opposes any Kosovo settlement not accepted by Belgrade.
We believe an imposed settlement of the Kosovo question and seeking to partition Serbia’s sovereign territory without its consent is not in the interest of the United States. The blithe assumption [...]
Russia warned the United States and European Union on Monday that it would take a series of unidentified measures if Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence.
Russia’s Kosovo negotiator, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, declined to give any details about the steps, but said a recognition of Kosovo’s independence by the West would lead to a humanitarian [...]
“If the United States deploys its missiles in Europe for protecting their country against terrorism, Russia could in the same way create its stronghold in Serbia,†he continued. He even does not rule out a possibility of the deployment of Russian nuclear missiles in their country. “There is reason to hold talks on the problem, [...]
Even as Russia works to increase Europe’s dependence on it for oil and natural gas shipments, Europe is bickering with Turkey about fees for a pipeline that could be an alternative to the Kremlin option.
Over the past few months, Gazprom has been exceptionally active in the Balkans where the European Union and Russia are competing [...]
Serbian leaders today are expected to sign an agreement in Moscow that critics fear will help cement Russian energy giant Gazprom’s chokehold over critical supply lines for much of Europe.
The deal, to be witnessed by Serbian President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, clears the way for Gazprom to acquire a controlling stake in [...]
Serbia is close to a deal with Russia to ensure its supplies of natural gas in exchange for control of NIS, the Balkan state’s dominant oil and gas company, the two sides have confirmed.
Vojislav Kostunica, Serbia’s prime minister, said the benefits from a long-term supply arrangement with Gazprom, the Russian state-controlled gas company, would be [...]
BELGRADE, January 2 (Itar-Tass) - President Boris Tadic rules out a possibility of Serbia’s military interference in Kosovo.
“Serbia’s armed forces will act in compliance with domestic and international legislation,†Tadic said on Wednesday. He visited military facilities in the security area adjacent to the administrative border with Kosovo.
“We’ll never send our soldiers to senseless [...]
AP Interview: Ultranationalist leader calls for Russian military …
International Herald Tribune, France - 23 hours ago
Serbia needs Russian military bases established inside its borders to counter the US “threat” over Kosovo, he said. And if Kosovo declares independence, …
Serb radical wants Russia military base United Press International
Russia: Kosovo and the Asymmetry of Perceptions Stratfor (subscription)
Kosovo, Serbia to [...]
Kosovo appears to be an archaic topic. The Yugoslavian question was a 1990s issue, while the Kosovo issue has appeared to be one of those conflicts that never quite goes away but isn’t regarded very seriously by the international community. You hear about it but you don’t care about it. However, Kosovo is getting very [...]
Kosovo is expected to declare independence within the next month. Russia says this could trigger instability in other nearby breakaway regions.
After more than eight years under a UN protectorate, and centuries of ethnic wrangling, Kosovo seems on the verge of settling its political status—sort of. On December 10, a UN deadline for settling the [...]
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