Pristina, Kosovo
Independence from Serbia is the only realistic option for Kosovo, a U.N. special envoy said this week. After a year mediating talks between ethnic Albanians, who are the majority in the Serbian province, and Serbs, Finnish diplomat Marti Ahtisaari made his official report to the Security Council recommending a split. Kosovo has been administered by the U.N. since 1999, when NATO airstrikes stopped a Serbian crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists. But Serbia has no intention of giving up the province, which plays a pivotal role in Serbian national history and identity. Russia, which wields a veto on the Security Council, is backing the Serbs.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Trump uses tariffs to upend Brazil's domestic politicsIN THE SPOTLIGHT By slapping a 50% tariff on Brazil for its criminal investigation into Bolsonaro, the Trump administration is brazenly putting its fingers on the scales of a key foreign election
-
3 questions to ask when deciding whether to repair or replace your broken appliancethe explainer There may be merit to fixing what you already have, but sometimes buying new is even more cost-effective
-
'Trump's authoritarian manipulation of language'Instant Opinion Vienna has become a 'convenient target for populists' | Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
