Prodi warns Kosovo Albanians against hasty moves
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi warned Kosovo Albanians on Monday that their plans for a unilateral declaration of independence have to be put on hold for a while longer, saying that hasty moves in that direction might destroy accomplishments made in the quest for European unity for that cause.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, December 04, 2007
"Progress needs more time to be realized and would be irreplaceably destroyed if there were hasty unilateral decisions on December 10," Prodi said after talks with Albanian officials in Tirana.
Albanian Prime minister and loud advocate of Kosovo's independence Sali Berisha also advised Pristina leadership not to make any moves in that direction without prior consultations with the international community.
Prodi's visit to Tirana was widely seen as yet another in a series of international attempts to keep the situation in southern Balkans under control ahead of two crucial events slated for mid-December in New York - the Contact Group Troika's report to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the Kosovo-related debate in the Security Council.
The European Union has launched a rather wide diplomatic initiative aimed at bringing all 27 member states together regarding the status of Kosovo, as Western diplomats claim they have secured backing of all but three states.
