Electoral result might change independence timeframe, but only for “a few weeks”
The result of the second round of presidential elections between President Boris Tadic and opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic might have an impact on whether Western countries instruct Pristina to proclaim independence with a slight delay of “several weeks”.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, January 30, 2008
"In a case, as we expect, Tadic manages to make the best out of Sunday's polls, we'll push the Albanians to postpone the move for several weeks, so we have time to sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement with Belgrade," a Western diplomat told KosovoCompromise.com.
Tadic's success will, however, lead only to several weeks long hold on Kosovo Albanian's independence plan, as most diplomats expect deputies in Pristina to adopt the new constitution by early March.
Diplomatic sources confirmed such a timeframe scenario to the Financial Times.
"If Nikolic, the conservative, gets elected, then no one in Europe will see any benefit in waiting any longer with the independence declaration," a senior western diplomat told the FT.
"Under this scenario, the feeling will be that Serbia's approach on Kosovo independence will be tough - and we might as well cut our losses and get on with it. A decision to declare would come within 10 days of next weekend."
If Tadic wins, "the question will then be how we handle the independence declaration in a way that contains the damage for the Serbian president," said the diplomat.
"In that case, it is possible to imagine that independence might be delayed until the second half of February, and some EU states are even suggesting holding off until the first half of March."
