EU foreign ministers welcome Kosovo recognition by Montenegro, Macedonia

14/10/2008

LUXEMBOURG -- EU foreign ministers on Monday (October 13th) welcomed decisions by Montenegro and Macedonia to recognise Kosovo's independence. During a meeting in Luxembourg, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Serbia "will soon return to reality" after reacting to both countries' move by expelling their ambassadors from Belgrade.

Meanwhile, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said Podgorica's decision to recognise Kosovo's independence was not a result of foreign pressure. "We took into consideration our country's need to strengthen our partnership with EU and NATO members," he noted.

Opponents of the move staged another rally, this one in Podgorica, late Monday. More than 30 people suffered injuries, a third of them police officers, when clashes erupted between demonstrators and security personnel guarding the parliament building and nearby side streets. There were 35 arrests. Opposition politicians demanded that the cabinet revoke Kosovo's recognition and schedule a referendum on the issue. Short of that, President Filip Vujanovic should call early elections by year's end, the opposition said.

Separately Monday, Nebojsa Medojevic, leader of the opposition Movement for Change, said recognition of Kosovo jeopardises stability in the Balkans. "[The government] cannot be expected to contribute to regional stability if it establishes relations with one neighbour while worsening relations with another," Medojevic said. (Zeri, Koha Ditore, Express Vijesti, Politika, Pobjeda, BBC, Euronews - 14/10/08; RTK, Beta, Tanjug, RTCG, B92, Makfax, MIA, AFP, Reuters, DPA - 13/10/08)