Spain, Romania, Cyprus and Slovakia reiterated they will not recognize Kosovo

Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said that Spain would continue to oppose the independence of Kosovo.

"We will continue to support dialogue and a compromise between the two sides," she said after the International Court of Justice gave its opinion on Kosovo Albanians' unilaterally proclaimed independence.

"The Spanish government will remain of the opinion that it does not recognize the seceded Serbian province as an independent country," she said.

De la Vega added that Spain would continue to respect the UN resolution defining borders of the countries of the former Yugoslavia that was adopted after the Bosnia-Herzegovina war in 1995.

She said that any kind of parallel drawn between the situation between Serbia and Kosovo and between Spain and Catalonia is "unrealistic."

The Romanian Foreign Ministry reiterated that Romania would not recognize independence of Kosovo and expressed hope dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina would be restored in order that a solution acceptable for both sides and the region be found.

The opinion of the ICJ should be analyzed in detail, as the court assessed only the issue of legality of the act of the declaration of independence and not the legal consequences of such an act, i.e. the problem of the legality of the formation of an allegedly new state. Thus, the ICJ did not analyze if the international law provides Kosovo with the right to declare independence or right to secession, the Ministry stresses.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus repeated they would respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Serbia and Kosovo within Serbia.

Cyprus called on Belgrade and Pristina to restore dialogue within UN SC Resolution 1244 in order to find a mutually acceptable solution for Kosovo to enable stability and peace in the region. Cyprus is one of the five EU member-states that have not recognized independence of Kosovo.

The authorities in Bratislava will not change their stance about the unacceptability of the self-proclaimed independence of Kosovo, stated Slovak Minister of Defense Lubomir Galko.

The position of Slovakia has not changed, emphasized Galko, adding that this country has no intention of recognizing the unilateral secession of the southern Serbian province.

Most African countries also remain consistent in their opposition to independence of Kosovo and will give Serbia full support at the UN General Assembly sitting in autumn, Serbian Deputy PM Bozidar Djelic said in Kampala, Uganda, where he is leading a Serbian state delegation at a meeting of the African Union Executive Council.

He said the Serbian delegation had had meetings with representatives of 28 African Union states and several non-African states.

He said 42 of the 53 African Union states had not recognized independence of Kosovo.

Their officials announced they would resolutely support the Serbian position and work with Belgrade together in order that a resolution requiring dialogue on the Kosovo issue be adopted in the UN General Assembly.