French President
The breakdown earlier this week of talks between ethnic Albanians demanding independence and Serbs seeking to keep the province raise the likelihood Kosovo will declare independence from Serbia unilaterally at some point after Dec. 10.
Sarkozy said he did not consider the date as a firm deadline and said he hoped the province’s leaders would not act hastily making a declaration of independence.
“We hope it will be done at the right moment,” Sarkozy said during a Franco-Italian summit in the Mediterranean city of Nice. “If we have to give it a few more weeks to calm down the situation and get to that result, to France that seems preferable.”
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi echoed the French position, saying time is needed to prepare Kosovo’s independence.
Serbia has threatened to impose an economic and travel blockade if Kosovo’s leaders make good on their pledge to break away – stoking concerns of renewed unrest. Serbia, however, has also promised to refrain from violence, the IHT reports.
