US tries hard on Bangladesh to recognise Kosovo

ANIS ALAMGIR

Washington is making all-out hectic diplomatic efforts to impress upon Bangladesh to recognise the new European country Kosovo. US ambassador to Bangladesh James F. Moriarty yesterday met foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni in this regard. "We requested Bangladesh to recognise Kosovo during my meeting with the foreign minister," Moriarty told reporters after his meeting with Dr Moni at her office. He said that so far 60 countries, including majority of the OIC member states, had recognised Kosovo as an independent nation. However, Bangladesh is trying to exercise restraint on the issue as Dhaka's another close ally-Moscow-still considers the newly-born country as part of the Serbian province. In fact, all Dhaka is trying to do is to maintain the stance the US has done vis-à-vis recognition to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which Washington still considers as a part of Georgia. "Basically, Russia is not happy with American position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in the same way as America is not happy with Russian stance on Kosovo. Bangladesh doesn't want to get into all this…," said a top Bangladeshi diplomat. In a press briefing on August 22, 2009, Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes said, "We don't feel the necessity to recognise Kosovo at this moment." Instead, he continued, the government would consider "many factors" before taking a final decision. "If we recognise Kosovo, we are certainly taking a side. But if we don't, we are not leaning to any side," he said. Again, in a meeting with the US ambassador on November 15, 2009, Quayes had said that an independent decision taken be on Bangladesh's recognition of Kosovo, keeping the country's national interests under consideration. The US government has been trying to get Bangladesh's recognition since the last caretaker government came to power. According to media reports, on June 29, 2008, Chief Advisor of the caretaker government Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, during a meeting with Moriarty, had affirmed that "Bangladesh will recognise the new European country". He had also assured the US ambassador that "Bangladesh is committed to lobbying with Asian Muslim countries to recognize Kosovo," and that Bangladesh would actively contribute to the development of the new nation. Following a meeting on December 17, 2008 between Bangladesh Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury and US Ambassador Moriarty, there was a media speculation that the question of Kosovo recognition was under "active consideration of the government". Yesterday, talking to the reporters, the US ambassador also said that as of now, he was not sure that the US President Barack Obama would visit Dhaka during his India visit early November. "I will be happy if the President visits Bangladesh, but I don't have any information that he will touch Bangladesh during his India trip", Moriarty added. About the possibility of US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's Dhaka visit, Moriarty said, "She is a great friend of Bangladesh and will visit the country in due course of time." The US ambassador, however, declined to comment on Dhaka-Moscow nuclear framework agreement for setting up Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. published on-7th June 2010, the independent.