The winner of Saturday's election in Kosovo has promised the province will get its independence as soon as December 10. But the international community remains unsure about the future of the Serbian breakaway region.
On Monday, Russia’s State Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov told a conference in Berlin that Russia would reject “hasty attempts” to solve Kosovo's problems. He said that only a UN resolution would be “beneficial to the Balkans, Europe and the world at large”. Britain's Europe Minister, Jim Murphy, echoed Gryzlov, when he told reporters on Monday that Kosovo should wait for the international community to co-ordinate independence. “It shouldn't be an unmanaged act of their coalition. It must be co-ordinated with the international community,” the British official said. And the Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Monday no talking about the Serbian province’s independence should start until the work of the international mediators’ group, the Kosovo Troika, is finished. The contact group consists of Russia, the United States and the European Union. It is to present its view on the issue to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on December 10. Meanwhile leaders in disputed territories around the world are watching developments in Kosovo closely. A declaration of independence would set a precedent which might cause other regions and provinces to push for their independence. “If Kosovo becomes independent, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transdniester and Nagorny Karabakh will become independent too,” believes Tarzan Kokoity, South Ossetian MP.