US Kosovo Policy

Statement by Under Secretary Nick Burns (June 8, 2005)

Obilic, Kosovo

It has been a great privilege for us to come and receive the hospitality of such nice people. It is the first time that I have had a chance to come to this house. And what we heard was a very sad story, and that is what happened in March of 2004. And I just want to say that we have great sympathy for the Kosovar Serb population who have experienced this. We believe that Serbs have a right to live in Kosovo, peacefully, securely. This is your home.

We have been treated so nicely that the least we can do is say publicly that these people deserve more from the authorities -- they deserve to have assistance, and they deserve to be treated with respect, and they deserve to be able to sleep at night and not have to worry about provocations -- and that my country will always support a future Kosovo where the rights of the Serb population must be respected – the rights of the minorities, the rights of the Turkish population, and the rights of the Bosniac population and the Roma population. All the minorities should be respected here.

We just feel honored to have been received with such politeness and generosity and hospitality. But we feel sad, frankly, and we feel that these people have not been treated well; and that a great crime was committed here when their homes were burned; and that the authorities of Kosovo need to help them. And my government will argue for that.

And now I want to thank you for your hospitality. It has been a privilege.