Over the past several months, the agreement over the future of Kosovo has stalled. The United Nations (U.N.) has administered Kosovo, since the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) campaign, which drove out the Serbian Army. The discussion concerns whether Kosovo should be granted independence from Serbia and what would be the best solution.

Kosovo has been a hotspot for several centuries, which includes the 1389 Battle of Kosovo between the Serbian kingdoms and the Ottoman Empire (based in Turkey). The Albanians claim their heritage in the province dating to antiquity. I discuss the historical importance in more detail in my post, The Kosovo Question. Another aspect that has relevance to this discussion is the events of the 1999 NATO campaign. I will present the two claims to the event. The Albanians have stated they were targeted by the Serbian forces, which were conducting an ethnic cleansing campaign in the province. The Serbians claimed their actions were undertaken because of skirmishes with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Nevertheless, the conflict caused an inflow of Albanian refugees into neighboring countries. Fearing a Serbian push of ethnic cleansing, NATO conducted airstrikes to drive out the army.

Since Kosovo is very important to these two ethnic groups, a compromise for its future is very difficult. In February 2007, U.N. envoy Martti Ahtisaari proposed a plan to grant independence to Kosovo, which will include a government consisting of both Albanian and Serbian members. U.S. President George W. Bush and the European Union (E.U.) approve the plan, while Serbia and its longtime ally, Russia, oppose the plan. Serbia claims rightful ownership to the province while ethnic Albanians state it needs independence for its security. Russia has threatened to veto the plan and stated it will approve any proposal that Serbia accepts. In July, the U.S. and E.U., in a U.N. draft resolution, have agreed to renounce a promise for independence, if four months of talks with Serbia fails (ending December 10). On Saturday, Portugal's Foreign Minister Luis Amado held a meeting of E.U. members to promise unity on the issue. Some E.U. countries stated it will recognize an independent Kosovo, while others are hesitant.

Approximately a month ago, the negotiations have led to talks of a partition plan for Kosovo, which has been revisited previously. This agreement will split Serbia's province into a Serbian Kosovo, a portion that will contain the Serb population, and an Albanian Kosovo. A problem with this partition is that some of the Serbian historical sites will fall into the administering hands of Albanian Kosovo. In my opinion, the best chance for independence lies in this idea. If fruitful, the diplomacy concerning the province should continue in this direction. Some alterations to the plan will have to be made concerning the historical sites. What these alterations should consist? I do not have an answer at this moment. I feel these talks should determine the outcome. One characteristic I will state, as I have written in some of my other posts, "Even if the initial vision for agreement is not totally followed through precisely, this should not stall the process. The format for the talks should be worked based on where progress leads it."

I will conclude with a question to the reader, "What do you think is the best proposal for the future of Kosovo?"

To view my other commentaries, click here.