| Author (Person) | Beatty, Andrew |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.11, No.38, 27.10.05 |
| Publication Date | 27/10/2005 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Andrew Beatty Date: 27/10/05 Albania this week softened its line on Kosovo with the new foreign minister saying that his country would not call for unconditional independence for the province during forthcoming talks on its future status. On a visit to Brussels, Besnik Mustafaj told EU officials that Tirana would like to see independence for the predominantly ethnic Albanian province, but would support rules barring Kosovo from uniting with Albania or other neighbours. Despite being part of Serbia and Montenegro legally, since 1999 Kosovo has been administered by the international community. Mustafaj said that as long as Kosovo's boundaries remained intact, Albania would reject unification with the estimated 1.8 million ethnic Albanians that make up 90% of Kosovo's population. Part of a new government that took office six weeks ago, Mustafaj said Tirana's new policy of pursuing conditional independence would also include supporting guarantees for the rights of Serbs in the province. The position was welcomed by EU officials. His comments came as the United Nations' Security Council this week voted in favour of beginning talks on the final status of the province. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced that former Finnish president Marti Ahtisaari would likely be his special representative in the talks. Serbia continues to oppose moves towards independence, which according to Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica would question the "sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Serbia. The talks are expected to last 6-12 months. In recent weeks Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, has been seeking support for a beefed-up EU presence in Kosovo, with the Union taking control of policing. During his visit to Brussels, Mustafaj also expressed hope that Albania could start talks on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement - the first step towards EU membership by December. "We are not a government of saying but a government of doing," he said. Article reports that on a visit to Brussels, new Albanian Foreign Minister Besnik Mustafaj told EU officials that Tirana would like to see independence for the predominantly ethnic Albanian province, but would support rules barring Kosovo from uniting with Albania or other neighbours. Author suggests that this stance was less firm than that of the previous Albanian Government in that it did not call for unconditional independence. The United Nations' Security Council at the end of October 2005 voted in favour of beginning talks on the final status of the province, which were expected to last 6-12 months. |
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| Source Link | http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Countries / Regions | Albania, Serbia |
