Priština statements "regrettable"

Kosovo Ministry State Secretary Oliver Ivanovic says the government “has never, nor will ever seek the permission” of Pristina to visit Kosovo. His comments yesterday came in the wake of the announcement by the Kosovo government that they could ban Serbian officials from visiting the province. Pristina statements "regrettable" Ivanovic said that these warnings were regrettable. “The statement shows that the Kosovo Albanians continue to favor national chauvinism and euphoric statements, which, moreover, are unsubstantiated and unfeasible,” said the state secretary. He reiterated that according to the international community, the UN continued to enjoy legal subjectivity in Kosovo according to Resolution 1244, which had been further bolstered by the latest Security Council decisions. “We’ve never sought agreement, nor will we from the Kosovo government. We’ve only sought police escorts because of the lack of security,” said Ivanovic, adding that Pristina should discern between these two things. He said that the Pristina authorities could not put their words into actions, but that the statements had already had a negative impact. Ivanovic said that Kosovo officials should watch what they say more because, as he put it, “once you cause a storm, it’s hard to quell it.” “I’m calling for reason and moderation, while this statement serves only political purposes,” said the Kosovo Ministry official. Oliver Ivanovic (Beta, archive)

Priština statements "regrettable"

Ivanović said that these warnings were regrettable.

“The statement shows that the Kosovo Albanians continue to favor national chauvinism and euphoric statements, which, moreover, are unsubstantiated and unfeasible,” said the state secretary.

He reiterated that according to the international community, the UN continued to enjoy legal subjectivity in Kosovo according to Resolution 1244, which had been further bolstered by the latest Security Council decisions.

“We’ve never sought agreement, nor will we from the Kosovo government. We’ve only sought police escorts because of the lack of security,” said Ivanović, adding that Priština should discern between these two things.

He said that the Priština authorities could not put their words into actions, but that the statements had already had a negative impact.

Ivanović said that Kosovo officials should watch what they say more because, as he put it, “once you cause a storm, it’s hard to quell it.”

“I’m calling for reason and moderation, while this statement serves only political purposes,” said the Kosovo Ministry official.