Quotes

Separatist regions like the Basque country or Abkhazia might not resemble Kosovo right now - as Washington is quick to note - but by explicitly stating the merits of Kosovar self-determination and independence, Washington is essentially creating an innovative code, only to make the cipher publicly available. Current and future separatists merely have to manufacture the same conditions and sequencing that have compelled the West to embrace an independence Kosovo: terrorize locals, invite government crackdowns, incite a rebellion and lure in foreign intervention and commitment to rebuild. Once militants get this far, Kosovo will no longer be unique - even by Washington's peculiar standards - and areas that share Kosovo's characteristics will be equally deserving of independence.

Romania supports only those tasks which are based on UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and do not in any sense imply recognition of Kosovo.

The question of status of Kosovo must be solved in line with the norms of international law, with the leading role of the United Nations, and based on an agreement of the sides ... The unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo is against UN Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council, which - until a new decision by this organization is made - must remain the legal basis for the resolution of the Kosovo problem. Russia, India and China call for the resumption of talks between Belgrade and Pristina under the framework of international laws to seek a solution for the Serbian territory.

I pledged that the United States will continue to work with those nations that have not recognized an independent Kosovo in order to convince them to do so as quickly as possible.

When the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia in July 1914, few could have imagined that the result would be the demise not only of the Habsburg Empire, but also of the Russian and Ottoman ones. Nobody believes that Serbia's challenge to the European Union over Kosovo will be anything like as dramatic; most Serbs want to join the EU, not destroy it. Yet 100 days after Kosovo declared independence, Serbia has done a lot better than anybody expected in thwarting the EU's plans for it.

We do not have the intention, nor will have it in a foreseeable future to recognize Kosovo.

The unilateral declaration of the independence of a part of the Serbian state and the recognition of that secession, are contrary to the norms and principles of international law: state sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders.

Kosovo's decision to declare independence was a bad idea. The U.S. decision to recognize it was worse -- and not because it prompted a crowd of angry Serbs to torch the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade.

The problem is not that "Serb nationalists" are resisting "the West," as it is put by those U.S. journalists who honor the First Amendment by parroting the State Department, but rather that the Bush administration has attempted to force a military solution to a political problem, in violation of the U.N. charter and the most basic principles of international law.

Kosovo's decision to declare independence was a bad idea. The U.S. decision to recognize it was worse -- and not because it prompted a crowd of angry Serbs to torch the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade.