20 minutes agoRugova ledge Kinkel in 1998 for Kosovo's independence in Bonn
Periskopi(7 years ago)
(7 years ago)Former German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, who died today at the age of 82, had taken a harsh stand against the brutality of Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic in Kosovo, threatening even NATO intervention. But the German top diplomat in 1998 preferred that Kosovo have only one [...]
According to foreign agencies reporting on the 1998 Rugova Kinkel meeting, the two sides had come up with opposing positions.
Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova has not agreed to Bonn with top German officials about the future status of the southern Serbian “province”, news agencies reported on the June 25th 1995 meeting.
It recalled that Rugova commits itself to immediate independence for Kosovo, while also establishing the issue of the inter-combat protectorate for Kosovo, but has refused talks with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
But Kinkel had made it clear 21 years earlier that Germany did not support Kosovo's independence, which had been violent in Serbia in 1999 when Belgrade had abolished autonomy.
Kinkel had said in this case that Germany supported efforts to restore Kosovo's autonomy, but had reiterated that the crisis should be resolved by peaceful means, while also calling for pressure for both sides to sit at the table for talks.
Kinkel had raised the possibility of cutting diplomatic relations with Belgrade and using NATO force with the UN's mandate to halt violence in the region.
