TIRANA TIMES
TIRANA, July 21 – As Kosovo and Serbia wait for the verdict of the International Court on Prishtina’s unilaterally-declared independence, Tirana has made it clear that it is against the idea of a possible land swap between the two countries.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha made it clear that such speculations of border changes in the Balkans are against Albanians’ interests.
“I want to say out loud that protecting the current borders in the Balkans is in Albanians’ interests, although I am the prime minister of Albania, a nation that lives in three other countries,” said Berisha during a speech at a summit in Dubrovnik this weekend. “I believe that protecting the current borders is essential,” he added.
Kosovo started a war when then President Slobodan Milosevic launched a brutal crackdown against the Kosovo separatists. About 10,000 people _ mostly ethnic Albanians _ died before a NATO bombing in 1999 stopped Milosevic’s offensive and forced him to pull out his troops.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008 and it has been recognized by 69 countries, including the United States and most of the European Union member countries.
The Netherlands-based court will issue a nonbinding but politically important opinion Thursday on whether Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia was legal.
While Kosovo declared its independence two years ago, the authority of its government is effectively restricted to south of the Ibar River in the divided northern city of Mitrovica. The northern part of Kosovo, which is where the majority of Kosovo Serbs live, is largely controlled by Belgrade.
Recently some analysts have suggested that Serbia will seek to trade part of its southern Presevo Valley bordering Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians make up the majority of the population, for the northern part of Mitrovica.
The land swap proposal has flatly been rejected by Kosovo leaders too.
