Earlier this week, Serbian nationalists took the largest portion of the election, though far from an outright victory. Coalition talks are continuing.
Meantime, Kosovo -- which the Serbian nationalists still very much want as their own -- is on the verge of getting formal support for independence from the US and Europe.
To complicate matters:
Some diplomats caution that achievement of consensus by the Western powers might not be the end of the tale: Serbia's leaders have persistently and heatedly campaigned against any forced separation of one of their country's provinces. Many Serbs now look toward Moscow to protect their interests with a veto when the matter is presented to the U.N. Security Council for a vote, likely this spring.
Moscow has privately hinted, however, that it is prepared to support the plan in exchange for U.S. and European acquiescence to the formal secession of two Russian-backed regions of Georgia. Washington and its allies oppose that Russian bid, and officials said this week they are uncertain how quickly this diplomatic dance will play out.
A friend of mine is going over to live in Belgrade for a couple of months -- she'll have a few things to say, I'm sure.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 January 2007 15:21 (eighteen years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 16:30 (eighteen years ago)
― geoff (gcannon), Friday, 26 January 2007 16:33 (eighteen years ago)
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 January 2007 16:35 (eighteen years ago)
Regardless, there's no way in hell that Kosovo becomes anything other than independent. T'will never be a part of Serbia again.
― g00blar (gooblar), Friday, 26 January 2007 16:37 (eighteen years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 16:54 (eighteen years ago)
fixed.
― g00blar (gooblar), Friday, 26 January 2007 16:55 (eighteen years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:03 (eighteen years ago)
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 26 January 2007 17:44 (eighteen years ago)
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:04 (eighteen years ago)
― geoff (gcannon), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:13 (eighteen years ago)
― geoff (gcannon), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:15 (eighteen years ago)
― M. White (Miguelito), Friday, 26 January 2007 18:19 (eighteen years ago)
The Specter piece is on the internet somewhere - I downloaded a PDF yesterday and circulated it to all my friends.
― i'll mitya halfway (mitya), Saturday, 27 January 2007 17:33 (eighteen years ago)
Serbia investigating whether US had secret deal with war crimes fugitive Karadzic:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/19/europe/EU-GEN-Serbia-US-Karadzic.php
― StanM, Friday, 21 September 2007 20:41 (eighteen years ago)
Some kind of crunch is about to happen here. What happens next?
a. War. Serbia goes for the throat. Kosovo is too weak to defend itself. NATO doesn't step in, at least immediately, because there's no public support for action. Serbia retakes the province, and the focus is on keeping things humane. b. Militiancy. Unofficial attacks by entities not-necessarily connected to the Serbian state. The new state is neither overwhelmed nor capable of striking back, and its authority leaches back to its own militias. NATO plays policeman as things get steadily worse. c. Damp squib. Serbia doesn't recognise the new state, but otherwise little changes. The Serb areas become new Republika Srpskas, their status becoming something else for the back burner. d. Other. But what?
― Ismael Klata, Monday, 10 December 2007 14:43 (eighteen years ago)
a. War. Serbia goes for the throat. Kosovo is too weak to defend itself.
Serbia is too weak to attack it.
― Tom D., Monday, 10 December 2007 14:45 (eighteen years ago)
I forgot: e. Kosovo declares independence and makes a good fist of it. The Serb areas know a good thing when they see it and want to join in. The enlightened new state lets them. Serbia sees that there is little support for any intervention by it and bows out, other than maintaining a residual territorial claim that fades in time.
― Ismael Klata, Monday, 10 December 2007 14:58 (eighteen years ago)
Oh, you fuckers:
European leaders are prepared to offer Serbia "accelerated" membership of the EU as a carrot for accepting the independence of Kosovo, it was reported today.
― G00blar, Friday, 14 December 2007 12:05 (eighteen years ago)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7244333.stm
Really hope this blows over. I was in the Balkans last summer (fascinating, I'd recommend anyone to go*), and it would be heartbreaking to see a return to conflict. Hopefully more preventative measures are being taken this time.
*Though maybe not right now.
― chap, Thursday, 14 February 2008 16:01 (seventeen years ago)
The friend I mentioned in the first post is still in Belgrade and she's not thrilled about any of this -- she's very glad the Serbian election went the way it did but this is something else.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 14 February 2008 16:04 (seventeen years ago)
Anyone think it's a good idea, Kosovo declaring independence?
― Ismael Klata, Thursday, 14 February 2008 20:18 (seventeen years ago)
Well, Russia's invasion of Georgia has finally limped to the top of the BBC news, now that nothing has finished happening in Beijing
― Ismael Klata, Friday, 8 August 2008 18:36 (seventeen years ago)
damn, tough gig
BREAKINGThe newly elected Vice-President of Serbian Parliament, Bozidar Delic, has died a few days into office.Delic was a notorious war criminal, under whose command Serbia's genocidal forces massacred 2174 Kosovo Albanians, 459 of which were later found in mass graves. pic.twitter.com/5uxqiZqGpa— Admirim (@admirim) August 23, 2022
― nashwan, Tuesday, 23 August 2022 13:08 (three years ago)