Kosovo's Thaci says new wave of recognitions to come

03/10/2008

PRISTINA, Kosovo -- Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said on Thursday (October 2nd) that new wave of states poised to recognise Kosovo's independence will surprise authorities in Belgrade. "The number of countries ... will grow," Thaci said, crediting the joint work of domestic institutions and the support of the international community. So far, 47 countries have recognised Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence from Serbia, including 21 EU members.

Separately Thursday, Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic said in an interview with B92 that he expects the International Court of Justice to rule that Kosovo's declaration of independence violated international law. According to Jeremic, this decision will cut Kosovo's road to all international organisations and would make some countries withdraw their recognition of it.

In other news Thursday, around 2,000 Serbs protested peacefully in the divided town of Mitrovica against the deployment of the EU-led mission, EULEX, in Kosovo. (AFP, B92, Deutsche Welle, Fonet, Beta, Tanjug, Naslovi - 02/10/08)