Ahtisaari: Balkan states cannot join EU before recognizing Kosovo
Former Kosovo status mediator Marti Ahtisaari has warned Balkans states, including Serbia, that they will not be able to join the European Union before recognizing the unilateral secession of the Kosovo Albanians.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Ahtisaari, who crafted a plan tracing a path towards Kosovo's secession, is nowadays a key lobbyist for Kosovo's recognition worldwide.
Another pro-secession lobbyist, Janusz Bugajski of the Center for Strategic and Internatioanl Studies (CSIS) in Washington, said meanwhile the upcoming local elections in Kosovo "may help convince the five EU members who have until now withheld recognition of Kosovo's statehood that a stable emerging democracy at the heart of the Balkans contributes to regional stability".
"Clean elections are essential for maintaining public faith in Kosovo's success as a state and eventually as a member of key multinational institutions including the United Nations", Bugajski said in a self-made PR Q&A.
