0128 GMT, 000128 ? The Consequences of Kosovo
Both Greece and Italy appear to be distancing themselves from both the United States and Western Europe.
Recent decisions in Athens and Rome suggest that neither government has reconciled the rift that opened in
NATO during its war against Yugoslavia last year.
Despite Western sanctions against Serbia, a new Italian business consortium, Consorzio Europeo Italia,
announced Jan. 21 plans to open a trading center near Belgrade, Yugoslavia, reported the Albanian Daily
News. The consortium, which includes several French companies, consists of businesses such as food and
metal processors, telecommunications and the car and furniture industries. This move directly defies Western
sanctions against Yugoslavia.
Further, while Western disapproval of Russia mounts over the Chechen war, Italy?s relations with Moscow are
growing friendlier. In Moscow on Jan. 20, Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini promised to allocate $8.3
million to Russia for the destruction of chemical weapons. Several days later, on Jan. 27, Italian Deputy
Defense Minister Gianni Rivera and Russian First Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Mikhailov signed a military
agreement that will enable Italy to buy Russian military products and develop further security cooperation
between the two. Greece has also begun to turn to Russia for arms, recently taking delivery of 21 Tor-M1
anti-aircraft missile units.
The governments in both Rome and Athens went along with NATO?s three-month bombing campaign but
harbored deep doubts over the wisdom of the war. Now, both governments appear worried by the war?s
consequences. Turkey is lending support to Albania, which raises hackles in Greece. Italy is still wrestling with
the problems of ethnic Albanian refugees and immigrants. The private split within NATO has not been mended
and since the war, the alliance has allowed the situation in Kosovo to deteriorate, increasingly threatening the
nations of its own southern flank.
The Balkan Stability Pact ? a Western offer following the war ? is a good example. The Pact, agreed upon by
Washington and the EU, was to channel several billion dollars worth of economic aid to the region, excluding
Serbia. Instead, Western powers have virtually deserted the pact. Greece and Italy, realizing that they must deal
with the war?s consequences appear to be taking matters into their own hands. |
