Which factor prevails over the resolution of the Kosovo issue - political or economic?

PanARMENIAN.Net - With the current prices for oil and gas, regardless the ecology, the coal becomes one of the alternative sources of energy. The coal transportation to the USA is connected with many difficulties, but for Europe the coal that Kosovo possesses is of great importance. Besides all the rest, the region has tin and chromium, which is enough to invest money in its exploitation.

"Kosovo has enough supplies of natural resources to become economically all-sufficient region by the time," announced the UN Special Envoy for the Kosovo status process Martti Ahtisaari. According to the diplomat, the issues of the economic development of the region of the country will become decisive in the course of negotiations. "At present Kosovo is significantly being subsidized by the international donors, however, this region cannot endlessly rely on the inflow of resources from the outside. Having natural resources, which are hard to be extracted, one should not think that the world tax-payers will endlessly finance you. Everybody wants to create opportunities for rational development of the situation. If this happens in future we will have chances for stable economic development in Kosovo," said Ahtisaari.

Kosovo's independence is needed to cut Serbia off these minerals. As always economic interests have their influence on politics. The USA has started the Gulf War, Operation Desert Shield, without liberating Kuwait from Iraqi occupation, for sake of big reserves of oil. The same may be said about the invasion of Iraq under the pretext of abolishing the weapon of mass destruction possessed by Saddam Hussein, which hasn't been found till today.

When it is said in the West that there will be no Kosovo precedent, normally the economic factor is meant. It is natural that Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria and moreover Nagorno-Karabakh in the economic plan, or to be more exact in energy sphere, are of no interest to the USA or EU. Another thing is that they all stand in the way and comply with the interests of Russia.

It turned out that Kosovo's independence is handy for everyone. It is also of great importance for Serbia as well, but the Serbs are not ready for anything yet, and will hardly be in the near future. As a result, the everlasting method of resolving such kind of conflicts remains the war, though all the interested parties say that "they are not going to allow any military decisions to be taken." It seemed like Turkey was also of the same opinion as the USA, but then it simply started bombing Northern Iraq. President Abdullah Gul, after his visit to Washington says that this is not possible. The same will be in the Balkans, i.e. the scenario of 1999, when Kosovo during the mass confusion caused by the breakdown of Yugoslavia started the war against the Serbs, may repeat.

The Kosovo Independence Day declared by Hashim Tachy is not so far. They intend to part from Belgrade for once and for all on February 3, this is the deadline set by the USA and EU, when the second round of the elections in Serbia will take place. "It's a sure thing, since the Americans have already promised independence to Kosovo. But if Washington recognizes Kosovo and the European countries don't, we will face a huge disaster," writes The New York Times. We will have to face disaster in any case, and unfortunately the Balkans will become the cause of the war, like it has happened several times throughout the history.