Time for Independence

"I happen to believe that it's important to move the process along," Bush told reporters in Tirana, during the first ever visit to Albania by a US president.

"Independence is the goal," he said during a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha. "The time is now."

Serbian, Russian opposition

Bush reaffirmed his strong support for UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari's proposal to grant Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority "internationally supervised independence" from Serbia, which is seen as a blueprint leading to total independence further down the line.

The plan is backed by Kosovo Albanian leaders, the United States and the European Union, but adamantly opposed by Serbia and its ally Russia, which has threatened to block it before the UN Security Council.

Bush: No more delays

During last week's meeting in Germany of leaders from the Group of Eight most industrialized countries, French President Nicolas Sarkozy had proposed a six-month pause for reflection on Kosovo's status before implementing any plan.

But Bush made it clear in Tirana that the time for reflection was over and warned of possible unrest if the aspirations of the Kosovo Albanians were not met.

"At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you got to say 'enough's enough, Kosovo's independent'," Bush said. "I'm worried about expectations not being met in Kosovo," he added.