Kosovo Albanian leader rejects talks with Yugoslavia

"Belgrade should no longer be asked about independence," Ibrahim Rugova was quoted as saying in a Focus interview. "It should have nothing to say anymore after this terrible war."
Rugova, whose Democratic League of Kosovo won municipal elections last week, called on the United States and European countries to formally recognize the province as an independent country, the German weekly said.

NATO launched airstrikes last year to make Serb-led Yugoslav forces stop a brutal campaign to drive out Kosovo's majority ethnic Albanians. The conflict ultimately helped bring about last month's ouster of Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic by protesters backing democratically elected new President Vojislav Kostunica.
But Rugova, known for his policy of peaceful resistance to Serb rule, said he cannot trust the powers in Belgrade. "The government can change there anytime," he told Focus.

He said he wants Kosovo to become part of NATO in the long run as a way of protecting Kosovo, where the Western military alliance currently heads a peace force known as KFOR.
"KFOR or NATO will always stay here," Rugova told Focus. "Under another mandate. Because we will become part of NATO one day."
Rugova's party, like all ethnic Albanian political groups who took part in the elections, has promised to work for independence for Kosovo.

(ba/AP)