Vatican: No reason to recognize Kosovo

Source: Večernje novosti

BELGRADE -- Apostolic Nuncio to Serbia Orlando Antonini has said that the Holy See did not see any reason to change its position and recognize Kosovo’s independence.

A view of Priština (I. Jovanović, file)

Spanish, Greek, Romanian, Cypriot and Slovak ambassadors to Serbia have also stated that their countries will not change their position and that they will not recognize Kosovo.
89 countries have so far recognized Kosovo, which is less than a half of the UN members. Even though Priština has stepped up its diplomatic activities in order to win new recognitions, chances of that happening are slim, Belgrade-based daily Večernje novosti writes.

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkić told the daily that Serbia was making a great effort in order to prevent new recognitions and to try to persuade some countries that have already recognized Kosovo to rescind their recognition. Two countries, Sao Tome and Principe and Mali, have so far decided to do so.

Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci’s latest attempt to persuade the Vatican and the new pope to make a U-Turn and recognize Kosovo has failed, Večernje novosti writes.

“This is not the first time that Priština has asked the Holy See to recognize Kosovo. Of course, they are using every opportunity to make such a request, especially in public. In any case, I can repeat, especially bearing in mind negotiations between Belgrade and Priština that are underway, that the Holy See does not see any reason to change its well-known stance,” Antonini told the daily.

The Greek Embassy has said that their policy was clear – Greece does not recognize Kosovo and it will recognize it in the future. The Romanian and Cypriot Embassies also confirmed that they were not thinking about recognizing Kosovo.

Spanish Ambassador to Belgrade Arturo Laclaustra Beltran reiterated his country’s principled position not to recognize Kosovo’s unilaterally declared independence.

“Slovakia’s stance has not changed. We do not recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state and at the same time we support all initiatives that are in accordance with the European perspective of the entire Balkan region,” Slovak Ambassador Jan Varšo.

Former Serbian Ambassador to Germany Ognjen Pribićević, however, warns that powerful countries that support Kosovo would continue to exert pressure in order to get new recognitions.

“Lobbying goes in two directions. The first is pressure on the five EU member states and the second is on Egypt. It is very important what Cairo will do because this country, along with Iran and Saudi Arabia, is one of the pillars in the Arab world,” he said.

Egyptian Ambassador to Belgrade Aly Galal Abdelaziz told the daily that Egypt did not recognize Kosovo and that it carefully followed the dialogue in Brussels. He added that Egypt hoped that an acceptable solution would be found that would be in the interest of all people in the region.