Spain firm on Kosovo peacekeeper pullout decision
Spain said Monday it is sticking by a decision to withdraw its peacekeepers from Kosovo, a policy shift that has angered the United States.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Defense Minister Carme Chacon said Spain will carry out the withdrawal gradually, in coordination with NATO allies but the decision is absolutely firm and most of the 620 Spanish troops in Kosovo will come home by fall.
As Spain does not recognize Kosovo's year-old unilateral declaration of independence, Spanish troops cannot take part in this new process, she said.
Kosovo is a sensitive issue for Spain, because it faces violent separatism in its Basque region and some pro-independence sentiment in Catalonia. Spain fears recognizing Kosovo would only encourage such regional nationalism.
"Spanish troops are not going to participate in operations directly linked to a decision - Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence - which Spain and the Spanish people do not share. No one can ask that of Spain," Chacon said.
Chacon announced the withdrawal Thursday during a visit to Spanish troops in Kosovo. She will meet this Thursday with NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to start coordinating the Spanish withdrawal.
NATO and the United States said they were warned only shortly beforehand and complained the decision should have been discussed among all countries with peacekeepers in Kosovo.
The U.S. State Department said Friday it was "deeply disappointed" by the Spanish decision and disagreed with Spain's assessment that its mission in Kosovo was completed.
