Macedonian president: Kosovo is a risk for regional security
Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski warned regional leaders over the weekend that the complexity of issues surrounding Kosovo’s status could turn out to be a serious risk to stability in Balkans, despite the obvious progress in the formerly volatile region.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, May 05, 2008
"There are still certain risks, which must not be underestimated. I would particularly mention the issue of Kosovo, the complexity of which is illustrated by the fact that even the European Union could not reach a common position on this issue," the Macedonian president said.
Crvenkovski's remarks came just a day after Pristina leaders stormed Skopje with criticism over its decision not to invite Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu to Ohrid, saying that "no one can ignore the newly proclaimed independent state".
However, Crvenkovski said that Kosovo leaders failed to gain wide support to be included into the summit of 18 central and southern European states, adding that there was no consensus on the issue among participants.
Macedonia and Kosovo are facing a serious test to their stability as negotiators from two sides started negotiations on some 3,000 hectares of contested land which has been registered as Macedonian soil, but Albanians claim that the land was "stolen" from Kosovo.
The issue has been widely seen as a trigger to the 2001 ethnic Albanian insurgency in Macedonia, which brought the tiny Balkan country on the edge of full-scale civil war. The conflict ended by Western-brokered power sharing deal, but the demarcation of the border is yet to be negotiated.
International law enforcing agencies, including the Interpol, describe the border between Macedonia and Kosovo (Serbia) as the main transfer point in regional gun running, human trafficking and drug smuggling networks, primarily controlled by the Albanian mafia.
