Zapatero: The majority of the world against Kosovo's secession

Zapatero referred to the question of Kosovo's independence at a press conference at the United Nations, one of the events surrounding the opening of the General Assembly session.

The premier emphasized that Spain's stance on Kosovo is "coherent" and will not be changed despite the fact that 62 countries - including the United States, Britain, Germany and France - have recognized the secession.

"We're not going to change position regarding Kosovo," Zapatero said in response to a question on why Spain does not support the independence proclaimed unilaterally in February 2008.

"The question could be the reverse: why are there more than 100 countries who have not recognized Kosovo and why do those 60 not see what the other 100 see?" he said.

The Spanish prime minister stressed that the recognition of new states demands "respect for the procedures of international legality and, in consequence, from our point of view the recognition of Kosovo is not a good decision."

Of the 27 countries in the European Union, Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Greece and Cyprus have not backed Kosovo's decision to break away from Serbia, a move that also has failed to find support in Russia, China and the majority of countries in Latin America.