Biden gets hero's welcome in Kosovo

PRISTINA, Kosovo — U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday received a hero's welcome in the place where it was expected — among Kosovo Albanians who are thanking America for leading them to independence from Serbia.

But his visit to Serbia a day earlier may have gotten the new Obama administration some unexpected allies — the Serbs, who oppose Kosovo's independence.

In Kosovo, Biden was wrapping up a three-day tour of the volatile southeastern European region that also included stops in Bosnia and Serbia.

The visit was meant to demonstrate renewed U.S. interest in the region riven by bloody ethnic wars of the 1990s, which the West accused Serbia of fomenting.

Not long ago, the Balkans were the focus of U.S. policies, but largely have fallen off the U.S. radar as attention has shifted to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, the Middle East and even Sri Lanka.

To add insult to injury, when the White House announced Biden's visit to Belgrade, it put out a press release, quickly withdrawn, saying he was going to meet Zoran Djindjic, Serbia's first pro-democracy prime minister, who was assassinated by nationalists in 2003.

Ivan Vujacic, until recently Serbia's ambassador to Washington, said Biden's visit shows "America's new interest in the region, although it definitely has larger priorities."

"Biden's main message in the Balkans was that the United States wants to see the region integrated into Europe," Vujacic said.

During his visit to Kosovo, Biden said the Balkans have "a historic opportunity" to become part of "a Europe that is whole, united and at peace."

Cheering and waving flags, thousands of ethnic Albanians lined the streets of Kosovo's capital, Pristina, to welcome Biden and applaud U.S. support for their country's statehood.

Biden, whose visit was the first by a senior American official since Kosovo declared independence last year, assured Kosovo's assembly that the country's independence — contested by Serbia and its ally Russia — was "irreversible." That prompted thunderous applause and a standing ovation by lawmakers grappling with challenges of nation-building amid ethnic tensions.

So far, Kosovo — considered by Serbs the cradle of their medieval state and religion — has been recognized by 60 states, including the United States and 22 countries of the European Union.