US wants to take over northern Kosovo, France wants Serbia to drop case against secession
The United States wants the international community to regain control over Kosovo's "lawless" northern, Serb-dominated region, US Assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs Daniel Fried said Tuesday.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, July 23, 2008
"The north of Kosovo is now a lawless area. There has to be a presence in the north," said Fried.
"We can't allow the situation in Kosovo to drift. Things will start to deteriorate. We can't wait," said Fried, who was in Brussels for talks with NATO.
Meanwhile, also in Brussels, French foreign minister and chairman of the EU Council of ministers Bernard Kouchner called on Belgrade to drop its idea of asking from the UN General Assembly to call on the International Court of Justice's avis on the legality of Kosovo's secession.
"If this tribunal says the act (of recognition of Kosovo's secession) was illegal, it would be bizarre to see Serbia wanting to join such illegality. It's illogical", said Koucher, a forme Unmik chief, during whose mandate in 1999-2000 had occurred most of the ethnic cleansing against the Kosovo Serb community.
"The Serbs either consider us as open, legal and very committed to human rights or they don't. If they don't, I don't see why they would join" the EU, Kouchner said in yet another round of pressure against Belgrade's position on Kosovo.
