Serbs use words of Western leaders to support Kosovo stand - International Herald Tribune

David Edenden

The US and EU are such powerful economic, military and political magnets that ordinary Serbs see their future with the EU rather than Russia, even though the EU is pushing full steam ahead on the partition of Serbia. This is the key to EU success in their Balkan policy and the also the key to their failure in the Russian policy.

Russia will go along with the "West" in the Balkans for a free hand in their sphere of influence. It's the big fish eating the little fish all over again.

Serbs use words of Western leaders to support Kosovo stand
International Herald Tribune:

"For all their ties with Russia - including a shared Christian Orthodox faith and military alliances dating back two centuries - Serbs today appear to have far more in common with the West. Serbia borders the European Union to the north and east and does not border Russia, Bokan noted. And Serbs, he said, play in the National Basketball Association in the United States and in soccer clubs throughout Europe.

'Ask anybody the name of a Russian film director, composer or even rock group and they will struggle, but they can name five or six American directors,' Bokan said.

The poster campaign, he said, is a reminder that Serbs can still fight for their cause and be Europeans.

Ljiljana Smajlovic, editor of Politika, a conservative broadsheet that has run a vigorous campaign against Kosovo's independence, is more specific.

'I don't expect the government to go to war' over Kosovo, she said in a telephone interview. 'But I expect them to go to court over this. I think one can be a good European and still protest this.'"