Berisha rushes to meet with Kosovo leaders following Bush visit

TIRANA, June 12 – Albanian prime minister met with Kosovo leaders on Monday to convey U.S. President George W. Bush’s message during his Sunday visit to neighboring Albania, the president’s press office said Tuesday. Sali Berisha held an informal meeting in Kukes, 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of the Albanian capital, Tirana, and close to the Kosovo border, with Kosovo’s President, Fatmir Sejdiu, and Prime Minister Agim Ceku. They discussed, according to the presidential statement, “yesterday’s historic visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Albania and his stand on support of Kosovo’s independence.”
U.S. President George W. Bush said on Sunday, while visiting Albania, that the disputed Serbian province of Kosovo should be allowed to gain independence.
“At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you’ve got to say `Enough is enough. Kosovo is independent’ and that’s the position we’ve taken,” Bush said during a Sunday news conference in Tirana. Following Bush’s visit, Kosovo leaders appealed to their ethnic Albanian citizens to remain calm and feel assured by the supportive comments of the United States.Kosovo, a province of 2 million people, of whom 90 percent are ethnic Albanians, has been run by the U.N. since mid-1999 when a NATO air war halted a crackdown by Serb forces on ethnic Albanian rebels seeking independence. In April, U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari recommended that Kosovo be granted internationally supervised independence, a proposal welcomed by the province’s ethnic Albanian majority who comprise 90 percent of the 2 million population, but vehemently rejected by its Serb minority, as well as Serbia and Russia.
Russia, an ally of Serbia, contends independence would set a dangerous precedent for the world’s other breakaway regions. Serbia also opposes statehood for Kosovo, which it sees as the heart of its historic homeland. The Security Council has not set a date to take up the resolution that would endorse Ahtisaari’s recommendation, but U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “We should not waste too much time in making (a) decision.”