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Nearly 13 years ago, the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo, backed byNATO, defeated Serbia. Now, however, the western Balkans are onedge again. Serbia, still angry about Kosovo's unilateraldeclaration of independence in 2008, has been accused ofencouraging ethnic Serbs living in Kosovo, particularly in theSerb-majority areas in and around the city of Mitrovica, to vote inSerbia's May 6 parliamentary elections. Kosovo calls this an attackon its sovereignty and has complained that Serbia is trying toredraw the borders of its countries. NATO has sent an additional700 troops to northern Kosovo to help defuse the situation. In the midst of this tension, Kosovo's prime minister HashimThaçi, who remains popular at home despite a scathing 2010Council of Europe report that alleged that he had indirect links toan illegal organ theft ring, embarked on a goodwill tour in theUnited States. The former political leader of the Kosovo LiberationArmy met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice PresidentJoe Biden as well as potential Kosovo investors. On his last daybefore returning home, he sat down with Time.com and Roads and Kingdoms to talk about independence, Serbia, and NATO. Question: Was there any disappointment in not meeting withPresident Obama? Thaçi: Absolutely not. I was invited here based on the formal invitationof the Vice President and the Secretary of State, and I had formalmeetings only scheduled only with them. So I'm going back fullyconvinced that the support of the United States for Kosovo willremain unshaken. (PHOTOS: 20 Years Later: The Bosnian Conflict in Photographs) How important is that support for your aspirations in Kosovo? It is of utmost importance [because of] the political aspect butalso the military presence within NATO. But now my struggle is howto strengthen this presence in a different way, bringing newAmerican investments in Kosovo. If a Republican wins the 2012 presidential election in the States,do you expect the same level of support? I wouldn't connect our aspirations, our values, with the rulingparty here whether they are Democrats or Republicans. Serbian media has labeled your call to have all Albanians united inone country a "war cry." Do we have to worry about further militaryconflict in your region? Definitely and firmly I say that the wartime in Kosovo and thewestern Balkans is over. And all I fight for is to maintain theintegrity and sovereignty of Kosovo, as an independent country, butwith open borders and integrated fully into the EU and NATO. Would Kosovo join Albania, especially down the road? We will be together within the European family, but as independentcountries. Why is the Serbian election outreach in northern Kosovo on May 6viewed as a threat? The intention of Serbia to organize its own elections within theterritory of a sovereign country is a complete violation of ourconstitution. Under no circumstances will we allow for Serbia toorganize elections on Kosovo soil. (MORE: New Violence in Kosovo Could Pose a Quandary for anOverstretched NATO) You have said that if your northern border is redrawn to excludemajority-Serb areas, then the Macedonian border will have to beredrawn to include ethnic Albanian areas into Kosovo. First of all, there will be no threat of partitioning of Kosovo'sterritory, there will be no exchange of territories, and there willbe no special autonomy in northern Kosovo. However, if anybody inBrussels has this idea of changing the borders, then this will notstop only in Kosovo or in the neighboring countries. It will goeven further in the entire western Balkans. It will affect at aminimum six states. Is this a threat to change the borders? No, it's a reality. Every country in the region has one smallMitrovica on the inside. How integrated are Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo: do theyintermarry, do they live in the same buildings? Having in mind what Serbia did to Kosovo Albanians during the war,having exercised that kind of genocide, I wouldn't say that thereis a huge love between the two communities. But still it is crucialto emphasize that both communities have the will and the desire tolive together side by side. It is improving. Were you involved in, or did you have knowledge of, this organtheft scheme [allegedly involving organs that were harvested fromexecuted Serbian prisoners and sold on the black market] that theCouncil of Europe report linked you to? This is a fictional report that nobody can believe. The allegationsare false, nothing like that has ever happened. [We] have nothingto hide, we have invited the investigation task force and EUinvestigators to conduct their job and to bring the truth. In my struggles for the freedom of my country, for the freedom ofmy people, I have had to deal with many opponents. In the last 25years, I've been a fugitive, or I have been hunted by Serbia. I cansay that I have been a target for Serbia since my childhood. I want all this to belong to the past, and I invite everybody tofocus on the concrete issues and not waste time on the fictionalstories. But this is a very heavy burden and an unjust burden for Kosovo.And it's a difficult issue to deal with me personally, a difficultissue for my family, and for my son, when I have to face theseunimaginable allegations. When will Kosovo join NATO? We are ready [laughs]. We will first try to join the NATOPartnership for Peace, with the clear aim that in a later stage,once we meet all the criteria, we become full-fledged members ofNATO. Roads and Kingdoms , a new journal of foreign correspondence, food and travel,conducted this interview in conjunction with Time.com. MORE: Voters Want Change in Kosovo's Landmark Election. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Vibrating Sieve Manufacturer , Cone Mixer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits V Shaped Mixer.
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