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15 May 2007   While the politicians profess confidence in the UN Security Council, ordinary Kosovars have more faith in American power.

By Krenar Gashi in Pristina and Podujevo

“Russians are important,” said Izet, 55, a farmer, sitting in a traditional teahouse in the north-eastern town of Podujevo. “The Russians are strong… they won’t let us to become independent so easy”, he went on, adding sugar to a tiny glass of black tea – the kind that Kosovo Albanians refer to as “Russian tea”.

Many Kosovo Albanians are worried that Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is about to use its veto powers to block a resolution on Kosovo’s final status.

A draft resolution endorsing “supervised” independence and drawn up by the UN envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, was formally proposed by the US and European states last week.

However, Russia – like Serbia - strongly opposes the idea of granting independence to break-away territories and has said it will oppose the Ahtisaari proposal.


Forcing any decision on Kosovo’s status would be “counter-productive”, Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, said on May 10 in New York.

Many Kosovo Albanians, such as Izet, see Russia as an important power in the global decision-making processes. They don’t know much about the procedures of the Security Council but they well remember Russia’s might in the era of the Cold War.

These days the “Russian veto” has become a hot topic in Kosovo’s cafes, bars and streets.

In the Rreze Llapi tea club in Podujevo, much frequented by retired persons, Izet was soon involved in a harsh debate with his compatriots.

Another middle-aged Albanian who didn’t want to introduce himself was convinced the status issue would not be solved for a long time, and punched the table to ensure he got attention.

“Lavrov gave up on Kosovo once”, he shouted. “He won’t do that again”.

Sergey Lavrov, today Russia’s Foreign Minister, was the Kremlin’s ambassador to the UN in 1999 and so represented his country on the Security Council when it adopted UN resolution 1244 in June 1999.

The resolution obliged Serbia’s authorities to withdraw from the province and gave the green light for NATO peacekeepers and a UN administration to be installed.

However, 1244 did not determine Kosovo’s final status, stating that for the time being the province would remain part of Serbia.

Unlike the patrons of Kosovo’s teahouses and cafés, Kosovo’s politicians are reluctant to make a direct prognosis on how Russia will vote in the Security Council.

Outwardly, Agim Ceku, Kosovo’s Prime Minister, remains confident that Russia will not veto the Western-inspired resolution on final status.

Russian diplomats openly say the contrary. “Solving the status issue must be based on compromise between both parties,” Churkin said after the Security Council delegation’s recent visit to Kosovo and Serbia. “The status talks have been too hasty.”

Few Kosovo Albanians disagree with Ahtisaari’s proposal, which offers Albanians the cherished goal of independence, alongside special rights for minorities, especially Serbs, including several new municipalities with Serbian majorities.

“Antisari took the middle road,” said Izet, struggling to pronounce the name of the Finnish diplomat who was its author.

“He has carved Kosovo’s status so well that it will fit everybody,” he added, referring to envoy’s attempt to reach a decent compromise.

Ordinary people in Kosovo have been paying less and less attention to the local politicians who have been promising independence since 2000, constantly changing the timeframe.

Kosovo’s former prime minister, Bajram Kosumi, publicly promised that Kosovo would be independent by June 2006.

When that promise did not come true, Kosovars became skeptical about pledges that Kosovo’s status would be settled in the next few weeks.

Bajram, a former fighter with guerilla Kosovo Liberation Army, said he didn’t have any faith that Kosovo politicians could deliver on the status issue.

For Bajram and other Albanians, the only real hope for Kosovo’s independence remains America’s support.

As a result, the attention of most Kosovars is focused on New York and Washington, where they believe the big decisions on their country will be taken.

“Thank God we have America with us,” Izet said. “They are now fighting our cause with the Russians”.

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, traveled on Sunday to Moscow to try to convince Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, and Foreign Minister Lavrov, that Kosovo’s status should be reached by a consensus on the Security Council.

The mission is seen as a final American effort to soften Russia’s opposition to independence, which has barely altered since the negotiations on Kosovo’s final status began.

A source close to US government told Balkan Insight that if Rice did not get anywhere with Lavrov, the last resort for President George Bush would be to personally take charge of the Kosovo issue at this summer’s G8 meeting in Germany, which Russia will attend.

Izet asks the waiter for another small glass of tea. He’s worried - but still convinced that the Americans, who helped Kosovo during the war of 1999, will not let it down now.

“It will be better one day… very soon,” he said.

Krenar Gashi is BIRN Kosovo Editor. Balkan Insight is BIRN’s online publication.