U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, made pleas for Serbian cooperation as Kosovo continues its campaign towards independence. Serbian officials were in Washington, where Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic met with Rice to discuss “outstanding obligations regarding war crimes indictees.” There are several war crimes suspects still alleged to be within Serbia's reach – including General Ratko Mladic, the mastermind of the Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in 1994.
The United Nations recently shelved a resolution on Kosovo's independence, as Russia – who is a close ally of Serbia – threatened to use its veto power at the Security Council. Kosovo has been under U.N. leadership since 1999 when Serbian forces were expelled after a NATO led campaign to halt two-years of ethnic conflict. Serbia is widely alleged to be harboring fugitives of war crimes, though it has recently disposed of several top suspects. Mladic, however, is viewed as a hero among far right supporters and is believed to be hiding in Russia.
Serbia has recently proposed an autonomous non-sovereign Kosovo province with “the broadest possible self-governance for the province's Albanians.” Many Serbians view Kosovo as their spiritual homeland and oppose an independent Kosovo comprised of ethnic Albanians.
