MOSCOW — Kosovo’s looming independence, and promises of quick U.S. and European recognition, have undercut and infuriated Russia at a time when this oil-rich behemoth is eager to show that its global clout has been restored, analysts say.
Russian officials have spent weeks issuing dire assessments of the U.N.-administered province’s upcoming declaration of independence from Serbia, set to be announced this weekend. The Russians have repeatedly derided Kosovo’s possible change in status as a “Pandora’s box” that will destabilize Europe by setting off a chain reaction of shifting borders.
In a last-ditch effort to stave off the declaration, Russia has called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council. But the U.S. and many European countries already have indicated their readiness to recognize Kosovo’s independence.
The European Union is preparing to send an 1,800-member security and justice force to the province as early as this weekend, setting the stage for the exit of U.N. officials who have administered the area since 1999, when NATO drove out Serbian troops seen as abusing Kosovo’s most Muslim population. Russia and Serbia say the EU mission is illegal.
