TIRANA, Albania – President Bush, making a historic and effusively praised appearance Sunday in this former communist nation where no previous sitting American president has set foot, pledged full commitment to promoting Albania’s admission to NATO.

But Bush appeared less certain here about his own stated commitment to the independence of neighboring Kosovo, with the president insisting that he will push for international agreement on Kosovo’s freedom from Serbia – yet questioning whether he himself had actually called for a deadline.

Asked Sunday about a deadline he had discussed just the day before in Italy, Bush, speaking Sunday at a news conference with the Albanian leader, replied that he hadn’t used the term “deadline.”

“A couple of points on that,” Bush said Sunday. “First of all, I don’t think I called for a deadline …”

Yes, he had, the inquiring reporter reminded the president.

“What exactly did I say?” Bush said. Deadline, the reporter replied.

“I said “deadline?”‘ Bush said. “OK, yes, then I meant what I said,” Bush said with a smile, and then laughing as he eyed reporters at the assembly in the sun-broiled courtyard of the Council of Ministers here.

“There just cannot be continued drift, because I’m worried about expectations not being met in Kosovo,” Bush said. “That’s what I meant. And, therefore, we’ll push the process.”

At a news conference 21 hours before with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi in Rome, Bush had been asked about a deadline for securing independence for Kosovo.

“In terms of the deadline, there needs to be one,” Bush had said Saturday. “This needs to come – this needs to happen. Now it’s time, in our judgment, to move the (special U.N. envoy for Kosovo’s) plan. There’s been a series of delays. … Our view is that time is up.”

Bush arrived in Tirana on Sunday and will complete his eight-day European trip Monday with appearances in Bulgaria to press his support for emerging democracies in Eastern Europe.

And in the capital of this nation with a history of repression which overthrew communist rule 15 years ago, people lined the streets to welcome the American president, a dramatic difference from the mass anti-war and anti-U.S. protests that marked Bush’s two-day visit to Rome. The prime minister of Albania, appearing side by side with Bush, heaped gushing praise upon his visitor.

Bush is “the greatest and most distinguished guest we have ever had in all times,” Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said in a courtyard where banner-length American and Albanian flags hung side by side and banners declared the two nations “Proud to be Partners” – banners that flew on Main Street as well.

With a campaign-style appeal to the Albanian public, Bush lunged into a crowd in a public square in the nearby village of Fusche Kruje, where people kissed him, embraced him, grabbed the back of his head and chanted “Boosh-y, Boosh-y,” as the president, wearing shirtsleeves rolled up, worked the crowd that had turned out on a hot and sunny Sunday. Albania had commissioned a commemorative postage stamp with Bush’s face on it.

Albania has supported the U.S. military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with Albania boosting troop deployments in Afghanistan by 120 this summer, the prime minister pledged Sunday that his nation will offer whatever “modest and resolute” support it can in the war against terrorism.

But Bush offered little tangible hope of progress on an issue of great importance to his Albanian ally, the liberation of Kosovo – whose people are largely ethnic Albanians – from Serbia. Asked what will happen if the United Nations plan is not accepted, Bush said leaders may need to seek a new U.N. Security Council resolution.

Russia remains the most significant opponent to Kosovo independence, and the final statement of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations, which met in Germany last week, reflects this division. Russia is a member of the G-8, whose final communique on Kosovo from Heiligendamm stated: “While there continue to be different views on substance and on the way forward, we will remain engaged on the issue.”

After former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic tried to exert greater control over the autonomous Kosovo province in 1989, Albanians in Kosovo began pushing for separation from Serbia.

While still part of Serbia, Kosovo remains an international protectorate of the United Nations, after a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted in 1999 that permits a NATO-led security force to keep the peace there. NATO has 17,000 troops in Kosovo now, including 1,700 U.S. troops.

“What’s important is for the people of Kosovo to know that the United States and Albania strongly support independence, as did most of the people in the G-8,” Bush said.

Asked how he will pursue this, Bush said: “What you do is you get your diplomats working with Russian diplomats, as well as EU diplomats, to see if there is not common ground. … And if you end up being in a position where you don’t, at some point in time, sooner rather than later, you’ve got to say enough is enough, Kosovo is independent.”

“But if it’s apparent that that’s not going to happen in a relatively quick period of time, in my judgment, we need to put forward the (U.N.) resolution,” Bush said, with a closing smile for the media: “Hence, deadline.”