US calls for restraint in Kosovo, Serbia
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States, reacting Sunday to Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, called on all parties in the region to exercise restraint.
"We note that today Kosovo declared its independence," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.
"We welcome the clear commitment of the Kosovo government to protect ethnic minority communities. We are now reviewing this issue and discussing it with our European allies," he said.
He added that the US "calls on all parties to exert utmost restraint and to refrain from any provocative act."
Joe Biden, chairman of the US Senate's Foreign Relation's Committee, said he would call on Congress to express support for the move.
"With Kosovo's independence, the time has come to inaugurate a new era of progress and conciliation in Southeast Europe. All countries of the region, but especially Kosovo and Serbia, should participate in that undertaking," Biden said in a statement.
"I also hope we will encourage Serbia to turn the page on the self-defeating policies of the recent past and embrace a future of stability and prosperity that will accompany membership in NATO and the European Union. Serbia's future is with Europe, not against it."
Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton, who is seeking the US presidency, also welcomed Kosovo's independence declaration as "a historic step that will allow the people of Kosovo to finally live in their own democratic state."
"I urge our friends and allies and around the world to join the United States and European Union countries in promptly recognizing an independent Kosovo," Clinton said in a statement.
She called on both Kosovars and Serbs to avoid violence, stressing "the high importance that I attach to full protection of the rights of all minorities in Kosovo, especially the Serbs, and to safeguard Serbian cultural and religious heritage sites in Kosovo."
Her rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Barack Obama, also called on Kosovo's leadership to protect the rights of all its people.
"Kosovo's independence carries with it important responsibilities. The international community has devoted enormous resources to Kosovo's political, economic and social development for nearly a decade, with results not always meeting expectations.
"I hope that Kosovo's government and people act with urgency to ensure that Kosovo becomes a positive example of democratic governance and the rule of law," Obama said.
"All the people of Kosovo, be they of Albanian, Serb or other origin, must be able to live in a free, tolerant and prosperous society," the Illinois senator added, "where minority rights and religious sites are fully protected, and the people of Kosovo have a stake in one another's success."
Clinton, meanwhile, assailed the administration of President George W. Bush for having "not always given the issues of Kosovo, Serbia's democratic future, and the Balkans the attention they deserve."
"This has helped contribute to the complicated and risky situation on the ground in the Balkans that we still face today," the former first lady said.
"I remain concerned about the deterioration of the situation in neighboring Bosnia and urge the Bush administration to pay more attention to this issue, so that it does not once again become a major threat to European stability," Clinton added.
