US Warns Kosovo: Approve New War Court Quickly

US ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson said on Thursday that the United States could not continue to block attempts by permanent UN Security Council member Russia to form a tribunal for Kosovo if Pristina fails to approve the formation of the new special court to try senior Kosovo Liberation Army figures for serious crimes during and after the 1998-99 war.

"I want to be very clear. If parliament is not able to pass this, and it's not established, this whole case, the allegations, will go to the UN Security Council," Jacobson said in an interview on KTV's Rubikontalk show.

"Several times a year, certain permanent members of the Security Council, Russia, raises this issue and calls for a UN tribunal, and we block it and we say no. If there is not a credible alternative in place, we can no longer do that," she added.

The new special court will be part of the Kosovo justice system but will be based in another country as well, while its prosecution will also be another country. It has been widely rumoured that this country will be the Netherlands.

For it to be established, two-thirds of MPs in parliament need to vote in favour of the constitutional changes that would help set it up.

Kosovo's constitutional court approved the changes on Wednesday and parliament is expected to vote on them next week. Only after that can the law for the actual creation of the special court also be voted on in parliament.

However, three opposition parties in the 120-strong parliament have announced they will not vote in favour of the court, and with the Serb minority MPs still boycotting parliament there is a risk that the 80-vote majority required for constitutional changes will not be achieved.

Even some ruling party MPs have said they are...