Possible Independence of Kosovo Poses Threat to Europe: Popovic

FOCUS ENGLISH NEWS (BULGARIA), 9 November 2006 15:51

 

Moscow. The co-chair of the Coordination Center for Kosovo Nenad Popovic cautioned on Thursday that the possible recognition of the independence of Kosovo and Metohija would constitute a threat to Europe and a danger ''of bloody conflicts and new redrawing of borders.''

 

''The recognition of the independence of Kosovo would be accepted as a precedent by Serbs and Croats in BiH, ethnic Albanians in Macedonia, where they account for almost one third of the population, ethnic Albanians in Greece and Montenegro, ethnic Romanians in Hungary and ethnic Hungarians in Romania, Basques, unrecognised republics in the territory of the former USSR,'' Popovic said in an interview with the Vremya Novostei daily, quoted by the Serbian Tanjug.

 

''It is not by chance that the Serbian approach to the Kosovo issue is best understood in the European states who also have problems with national minorities,'' he said.

 

After journalists noted that the supporters of independence claim that in the Province ethnic Albanians make up 90 pct of the population who do not wish to live in the same state with Serbs, Popovic said that 90 pct of the population of the Republic of Srpska are Serbs and that in the case of a referendum they ''could also vote for breaking away from BiH.''

 

He said that Serbia cannot understand why in the West there was an interest that, besides Albania, is created yet another Albanian state.

 

''It is possible that some Western politicians had promised Kosovo Albanians independence in the midst of the fight against Slobodan Milosevic. But Milosevic lost power in 2000, and is also dead, while the history of Serbian Albanian misunderstandings has been going on for one hundred years,'' Popovic said.