State Department: No new plan for Kosovo

The U.S. State Department has denied claims that a new administrative plan for Kosovo is being formulated. According to BIRN, the plan calls for Kosovo’s status to be frozen for the next 12 years in exchange for financial support to the Kosovo economy, though State Department officials have denied the existence of any such plan. State Department: No new plan for Kosovo State Department spokesman Curtis Cooper said yesterday in Washington that the already proposed Martti Ahtisaari plan was the best solution for solving the crisis at this point in time. Quoting sources close to the State Department, BIRN had stated that the U.S. was working on a plan that would include freezing Kosovo’s status until 2020, while giving the province USD 7bn worth of aid per year. Also yesterday, head of the U.S. Office in Pristina Tina Kaidanow said on Monday that the U.S. supported the work of the Contact Group's mediating Troika and expected the determination of Kosovo's status "as soon as possible." "The U.S. position on Kosovo's status has been articulated numerous times by senior-level policy makers, including President Bush and Secretary of State Rice." "We strongly support the ongoing troika process, and expect that at the end of that process, the determination of Kosovo's status will move to a conclusion as quickly as possible," said Kaidanow in a statement. U.S. pushes to get Russia on side The U.S. is prepared to offer concessions to Russia to try to persuade Moscow to soften its position on Kosovo. The concessions over the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty are part of a complex package Washington is pursuing as it tries to overcome Russian opposition to independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo and to gain support for new sanctions against Tehran that the Bush administration announced last week. With time running out for a deal on Kosovo - the deadline for an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo's ethnic Albanians expires on December 10 - and with the U.S. trying to win support for further sanctions against Iran, the administration is pressing to bring Russia on board. Haunting the U.S. and the Europeans is Russia's threat to withdraw from the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, which has been considered a cornerstone of European security since the end of the Cold War. President Vladimir Putin made the threat in response to U.S. plans to deploy an antimissile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic that Washington says would protect against attacks from Iran. "The Baltic states and the countries of Eastern Europe are desperately afraid of the U.S. trying to do a grand bargain with Putin," said Tomas Valesek, director of foreign policy and defense issues at the Center for European Reform in London. "These countries fear that once you go down this road, Putin's appetite will become even bigger," Valesek said. "He could use such deals to carve out his own spheres of influence, for instance in Georgia and Moldova. Any idea of a grand bargain is a terrible idea for them." And a senior NATO diplomat who requested anonymity said: "The U.S. is desperately finding incentives so as to win Russian support for Kosovo and Iran, but also in a way that would save the conventional arms treaty. The question is whether Russia but also some of the smaller NATO countries will buy into the compromise." The Bush administration suggested to Russia two weeks ago that it could cooperate in the missile shield and that a similar Russian system in Azerbaijan could be linked to the U.S. project. Putin turned down the offer. If Moscow refuses to yield on Kosovo, the United States and most European Union countries might recognize its independence anyway. That move could further destabilize the Balkans, worsen relations with Moscow and lead to a Chinese-Russian veto in the United Nations Security Council to block new sanctions on Iran, diplomats said.

State Department: No new plan for Kosovo

State Department spokesman Curtis Cooper said yesterday in Washington that the already proposed Martti Ahtisaari plan was the best solution for solving the crisis at this point in time.

Quoting sources close to the State Department, BIRN had stated that the U.S. was working on a plan that would include freezing Kosovo’s status until 2020, while giving the province USD 7bn worth of aid per year.

Also yesterday, head of the U.S. Office in Priština Tina Kaidanow said on Monday that the U.S. supported the work of the Contact Group's mediating Troika and expected the determination of Kosovo's status "as soon as possible."

"The U.S. position on Kosovo's status has been articulated numerous times by senior-level policy makers, including President Bush and Secretary of State Rice."

"We strongly support the ongoing troika process, and expect that at the end of that process, the determination of Kosovo's status will move to a conclusion as quickly as possible," said Kaidanow in a statement.

U.S. pushes to get Russia on side

The U.S. is prepared to offer concessions to Russia to try to persuade Moscow to soften its position on Kosovo.

The concessions over the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty are part of a complex package Washington is pursuing as it tries to overcome Russian opposition to independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo and to gain support for new sanctions against Tehran that the Bush administration announced last week.

With time running out for a deal on Kosovo - the deadline for an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo's ethnic Albanians expires on December 10 - and with the U.S. trying to win support for further sanctions against Iran, the administration is pressing to bring Russia on board.

Haunting the U.S. and the Europeans is Russia's threat to withdraw from the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, which has been considered a cornerstone of European security since the end of the Cold War. President Vladimir Putin made the threat in response to U.S. plans to deploy an antimissile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic that Washington says would protect against attacks from Iran.

"The Baltic states and the countries of Eastern Europe are desperately afraid of the U.S. trying to do a grand bargain with Putin," said Tomas Valesek, director of foreign policy and defense issues at the Center for European Reform in London.

"These countries fear that once you go down this road, Putin's appetite will become even bigger," Valesek said. "He could use such deals to carve out his own spheres of influence, for instance in Georgia and Moldova. Any idea of a grand bargain is a terrible idea for them."

And a senior NATO diplomat who requested anonymity said: "The U.S. is desperately finding incentives so as to win Russian support for Kosovo and Iran, but also in a way that would save the conventional arms treaty. The question is whether Russia but also some of the smaller NATO countries will buy into the compromise."

The Bush administration suggested to Russia two weeks ago that it could cooperate in the missile shield and that a similar Russian system in Azerbaijan could be linked to the U.S. project. Putin turned down the offer.

If Moscow refuses to yield on Kosovo, the United States and most European Union countries might recognize its independence anyway. That move could further destabilize the Balkans, worsen relations with Moscow and lead to a Chinese-Russian veto in the United Nations Security Council to block new sanctions on Iran, diplomats said.