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If there was an option of everyone staying equal at Kosovo, along with no monuments being destroyed or no pogroms committed, then I sincerely wouldn't give a crap about who owns it on paper; Serbs, Albanians, Kosovars, or the Japanese.
If there was an option of quelling the national hatred from both sides, I'd pick it.
But we're all aware that's impossible. So we're kind of stuck.

It's healthy to think about it once in a while, though. Makes you wonder about some things.

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The only side who will gain anything will be Russia, which has its own local and global interests.

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We've tried that with Yugoslavia.
Didn't work out so well
And we were all Slavs there.

So, if it's so hard for members of just one people to live in the same country, it's certainly impossible for members of such two different ones as Serbs and Albanians... Besides, there's too much national hatred.

No, it couldn't work unfortunately. :\ I hate to be a pessimist, but that's the way it is.

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@Vlad

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The only side who will gain anything will be Russia, which has its own local and global interests.

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Ok... I am tired of hearing Russia being mentioned in this thread in this way.

What exactly will Russia get? Can you describe it?

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Because most Serbs, unlike most Albanians, do not view Kosovo as just a piece of territory, but as a cultural and spiritual center, much like Jerusalem for Jewish people.
Why didn't the superpowers grant the Jews a territory somewhere in USA or Russia or France or west Africa? It would certainly make things much easier. But Israel is the Jewish holy land, so they gave it to them.

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Another goal achieved by siding with Serbia in this matter is maintaining Russian influence, which will be diminished if Serbia chooses a pro-European path.

If Nikolic wins the upcoming elections, he may even decide to keep his promise and offer Serbian territory for Russian military bases.

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The link doesn't work.

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If Serbia elects a EU-oriented president, it will definitely lose Kosovo despite whatever bull**** the candidates might be saying. They know very well what will happen and they are only saying all that "no independence" bull**** for all those Serbs who can't add 2 and 2 together.

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Serbia is going to lose Kosovo no matter what - the question is what price we'll pay and which path the nation will choose after the loss...

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Optimism is what you don't have.

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Lol, Russ. Just lol. I myself am a Russian, and what you're saying is nonsense. Who gave up the Cuban and Vietnamese bases? I'll tell you: it's not Putin.

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You are Russian? Wow, that's unfortunate. Do us all a favor and next time you try to use your ignorance and your lack of knowledge in an argument, don't tell them you are Russian.

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@Vlaad
I think you are right, but don't you think Serbia at least has a chance of keeping Kosovo with Russia on its side?

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BERLIN -- Frank Walter Steinmeier has hinted that Berlin will recognize a unilateral declaration of Kosovo's independence.

The chief of the German diplomacy was speaking for the media in his country when he said that Germany now "has no illusions, knowing that a negotiated settlement it hoped for cannot be reached."

"For this reason, if Kosovo declares independence, we will act the same as the large majority of EU countries," Steinmeier said Sunday.

He added that Berlin was acting carefully until now " not because it does not know what to do, but in order not to further burden the current situation in Serbia."

"Therefore, show some understanding for the fact I do not wish to make announcements, but we certainly know what to do," he said, when asked what Germany's reaction to a declaration of Kosovo's independence by the province's ethnic Albanians will be.

Steinmeier also praised his own country's behavior during the negotiations between Belgrade and Priština on Kosovo's future status.

"We have not asked hypothetical questions so far. Unlike some other capitals, we have not made untimely statements that fanned the flames," he told reporters.

"But, we are no longer able to halt history. Instead, we must adopt a position on what happens next, and many things indicate we will see a declaration of Kosovo's independence soon," Steinmeier concluded.

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PODGORICA -- Milo Ðukanoviæ says that "in the end Montenegro just as the rest of the region" will recognize an independent Kosovo.

"We have chosen to be a part of the European Union, and will have to honor its decisions. Naturally, Montenegro is not taking the role of the leader when it comes to Kosovo's independence," said the chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and Montenegro's former president and prime minister, who led his country to renewed independence in 2006.

"But, in the end, we will recognize Kosovo's independence just as other regional countries will," Ðukanoviæ added in an interview for a Sarajevo television outlet.

Asked about the second round of presidential elections in Serbia, Ðukanoviæ said he hoped that Serbia will take a pro-European path.

As for the good election result of the Radicals' candidate, Tomislav Nikoliæ, considered an ultra-nationalist who would lead the country to renewed isolation, the Montenegrin leader said this was in part down to Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica and President Boris Tadiæ's actions.

"They created a space for Nikoliæ with their clumsy policies, especially regarding [Serbia's] national interests," he said.

"Everything tells us Serbia ought to be the engine to take the region forward and toward Europe. However, due to some well-known issues from the recent past, it is now the last carriage in that train," Ðukanoviæ was blunt.

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— At a Council of Ministers Meeting on January 28, the EU will decide whether to invite Serbia to sign a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and whether at this time to authorize an EU Mission to Kosovo.

— On February 3, the Second Round of elections for the Serbian Presidency will be held and the voters will choose between current President Boris Tadiæ and Tomislav Nikoliæ, the “caretaker” of the Radical Party.

— Within a couple of weeks following the Serbian election, the Kosovo Albanians will issue their Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) and individual countries will begin to recognize it. The Serbian government will then respond.

The sum total of all of the above will determine whether Serbia continues on a path (slowly or rapidly) towards integration into “Europe” or alternatively, becomes a “Belarus of the Balkans,” belligerently looking East instead of West and in some state of confrontation with the EU, the United States and its new “neighbor,” Kosovo.

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