Quotes of the Day

They have brought the fireworks to celebrate their first Independence Day, but Kosovo Albanians' dreams of freedom from Serbia are again being deferred. U.S. and European attempts to pass a U.N. Security Council resolution to clear the way for the province's "supervised independence" are foundering on stiff opposition from Serbia and, more important, Russia. A Bush-Putin summit earlier this month failed to make progress on the issue. U.S. officials now say the U.N. resolution once promised for early 2007 may not come until 2008. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon warned that further delay could "unravel" Kosovo's peace process, but there is no clear path to agreement. The current U.N. proposal, backed by the U.S. and the E.U., would recognize Kosovo as a state but put it under E.U. supervision to safeguard Serbs and other minorities. But Russian officials have said that the move would encourage separatist movements in other parts of the world, including their own backyard.

The dithering can't go on forever. Kosovo Albanians, who make up more than 90% of the province's population, were calling for independence even before NATO planes forced Serbian security forces out of the province in 1999. U.N. administrators and an estimated 16,000 peacekeepers in Kosovo fear a repeat of the violent riots of March 2004 aimed at minority Serbs and Roma. Kosovar Prime Minister Agim Ceku has warned that the region may declare independence unilaterally if the deadlock persists. "I don't expect any major unrest this summer", says Agron Bajrami, editor of Koha Ditore, a Pristina daily. But if there is no movement before expected elections this fall, "even the mainstream parties will be tempted to adopt extreme strategies." Then there could be more than just fireworks.

• ANDREW PURVIS
• Dangers grow as Kosovo's independence is delayed again