U.S. ambassador hopes Montenegro will recognize Kosovo

U.S. Ambassador in Podgorica Roderick Moore has urged Montenegro to recognize Kosovo's unilateral independence.

Izvor: Beta

Friday, 16.05.2008.

16:05

Default images

U.S. Ambassador in Podgorica Roderick Moore has urged Montenegro to recognize Kosovo's unilateral independence. Moore said that he expected Podgorica to bear in mind the fact that the vast majority of EU and NATO member states had recognized Kosovo’s unilateral independence declaration when taking its own decision on recognition. U.S. ambassador hopes Montenegro will recognize Kosovo The ambassador told Podgorica daily Republika that Montenegro was in a delicate position, but that he hoped that Montenegro “like all the other countries in the region, where recognition of Kosovo’s independence is concerned, will bring its position into line with its Euro-Atlantic partners.” “It is a fact that 70 percent of EU members have already recognized Kosovo, as well as three-quarters of NATO member-states, so we hope that, in the end, Montenegro will also take that into consideration when it makes its decision,” Moore said. He said the “U.S. won’t exert influence on Montenegro” because it understood how difficult the matter was for them. Moore said that he expected the U.S. embassy in Podgorica to start issuing visas to Montenegrin citizens soon, but that before that other conditions had to be met. Moore added that the embassy “is worried about the stalling, or to put it better, the duration” of the Orlov case, where 18 Albanians, including one American national, were arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts a day before the parliamentary elections. He added that every day he received a great number of letters, invitations and questions from Washington, the Congress, State Department and other institutions about that trial. “Moreover, we are surprised that the investigation that was launched into the torture of prisoners still hasn’t finished, although it started almost 19 months ago,” he said.

U.S. ambassador hopes Montenegro will recognize Kosovo

The ambassador told Podgorica daily Republika that Montenegro was in a delicate position, but that he hoped that Montenegro “like all the other countries in the region, where recognition of Kosovo’s independence is concerned, will bring its position into line with its Euro-Atlantic partners.”

“It is a fact that 70 percent of EU members have already recognized Kosovo, as well as three-quarters of NATO member-states, so we hope that, in the end, Montenegro will also take that into consideration when it makes its decision,” Moore said.

He said the “U.S. won’t exert influence on Montenegro” because it understood how difficult the matter was for them.

Moore said that he expected the U.S. embassy in Podgorica to start issuing visas to Montenegrin citizens soon, but that before that other conditions had to be met.

Moore added that the embassy “is worried about the stalling, or to put it better, the duration” of the Orlov case, where 18 Albanians, including one American national, were arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts a day before the parliamentary elections.

He added that every day he received a great number of letters, invitations and questions from Washington, the Congress, State Department and other institutions about that trial.

“Moreover, we are surprised that the investigation that was launched into the torture of prisoners still hasn’t finished, although it started almost 19 months ago,” he said.

Komentari 20

Pogledaj komentare

20 Komentari

Možda vas zanima

Podeli: