WASHINGTON: Russia must accept the reality that “Serbia and Kosovo are never going to be one again” or risk instability there, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview published Wednesday.

“I hope that the Russians are as committed as we are to a stable outcome in the Balkans and to being constructive in the Balkans,” Rice said after talks on Kosovo in Brussels last week with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“But the fact of the matter is Kosovo and Serbia are never going to be one again, and that’s the reality,” Rice was quoted as saying in USA Today.

“And if you don’t deal with that reality, you’re only going to sow the seeds of considerable discontent and considerable instability,” Rice said. The Albanian-majority Serb province of Kosovo is seeking independence while Russian-backed Serbia is willing to grant its southern province no more than autonomy.Rice endorsed a plan presented early this year by the UN special envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari, that calls for independence under international supervision for the province.

“Both Kosovo and Serbia need to get on with their futures, their separate but related futures. And the way to do that is for Serbia to have a strong European perspective,” Rice said — AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Anti-women state
Updated 25 Nov, 2024

Anti-women state

GLOBALLY, women are tormented by the worst tools of exploitation: rape, sexual abuse, GBV, IPV, and more are among...
IT sector concerns
25 Nov, 2024

IT sector concerns

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ambitious plan to increase Pakistan’s IT exports from $3.2bn to $25bn in the ...
Israel’s war crimes
25 Nov, 2024

Israel’s war crimes

WHILE some powerful states are shielding Israel from censure, the court of global opinion is quite clear: there is...
Short-changed?
Updated 24 Nov, 2024

Short-changed?

As nations continue to argue, the international community must recognise that climate finance is not merely about numbers.
Overblown ‘threat’
24 Nov, 2024

Overblown ‘threat’

ON the eve of the PTI’s ‘do or die’ protest in the federal capital, there seemed to be little evidence of the...
Exclusive politics
24 Nov, 2024

Exclusive politics

THERE has been a gradual erasure of the voices of most marginalised groups from Pakistan’s mainstream political...