"Kosovo declared independence..."
"Amidst much fanfare..."
"True, and, amidst protests from Serbia, at home and abroad..."
"Again true but Serbia is friendless."
"I wouldn't say that. Russia is backing Serbia."
"Yes, but the Western countries are not concerned about Russia any more and are busy recognising Kosovo's independence."
"Right but let's be honest. Serbs treated the people of Kosovo badly, and I mean the scale of human rights violations were..."
"Were truly astounding I agree."
"So what does this remind you of?"
"Many troubled spots around the world."
"For example?"
"For example, Gaza and the West Bank."
"Totally different!"
"Yes there the top dog is favoured by the West and the underdogs, the Palestinians, are not."
"There is another difference: no one strong country stands up for the Palestinians, and by strength I mean in the international political arena."
"Right and not only in the oil sector..."
"Correct which is important, mind, has been the cause of some invasions in recent years but not strong enough."
"Right so why don't the Palestinians unilaterally declare independence?"
"Abbas is too tame though he did mention he might do it if the talks don't go ahead."
"So why doesn't Hamas for Gaza?"
"Well there the problem is if they do declare it as an independent state then no one will acknowledge them and..."
"But Egypt may have to open the border so maybe, just maybe, these people would cut all ties from Israel and carry on with Egypt."
"Won't be allowed by Israel and I doubt if the Egyptians can stand up to the kind of pressure Israel can put on the countries in the region."
"That's true but it maybe worth a shot."