Kosovo Albanian leadership rejects call for new status talks
The Kosovo Albanian leadership in Pristina has rejected a joint call by Russia, China and India for new talks on the Kosovo status.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, May 19, 2008
Kosovo justice minister Nekibe Kelmendi said she believed the call for new talks merely served to lean on those countries that had not yet recognised Kosovo as an independent state.
"Kosovo's status is no longer an issue, it has been settled. Kosovo's status has been settled on the basis of the Ahtisaari Plan and that document gave it green light to declare independence and self-determination," she said.
Kelmendi ruled out the possibility of new status talks, saying that Serbia and Kosovo could negotiate as two independent states on technical matters that concerned "both countries".
The Ahtisaari plan was rejected at the UN Security Council and only 40 out 192 UN members have recognized Pristina's unilateral secession which violated international law.
As a result, Kosovo's status remains in limbo, which prompted Moscow, New Delhi and Beijing to call for new talks.
