Polish Post puts Kosovo "somewhere in Russia"

Although the Polish government recognized Kosovo a year ago, that country's postal service "has not done the same", reports Beta. They still accept only Kosovo-bound mail addressed to Serbia/UNMIK. Polish Post puts Kosovo "somewhere in Russia" Poles who wish to send mail to Kosovo must write that it is being sent to Serbia/UNMIK, because post office workers have, for example, the Coco Islands, but not Kosovo, on their list of countries. Reporters of the Rzeczpospolita daily tried to sent a package to Kosovo from the main post office in Warsaw. Even though a spokesperson claimed that Kosovo is "one of the 190 countries which people can send mail to", the employee that took the package decided to send it to Russia. “Kosovo, that is somewhere in Russia,” she told the reporters, and when they tried to send it again a week later with the spokesperson intervening and "promising that Kosovo was on the list", the worker that day wanted to send the package to a place called Kosovo in Poland, because there is still no country of that name listed in southern Europe. “The only way that the post office will accept a package being sent to Kosovo is if you write Serbia/UNMIK. Do they arrive? I am not sure,” Wojciech Stanislawski of the Center for Eastern Studies said, adding that he needed to send something work-related to Kosovo. “The problem with the mail is that it shows that relations must be established between the Polish and Kosovo institutions. We should be consistent. Since we recognized its independence, we are obligated to, regardless of politics, cooperate in all possible fields, especially those that perform services for citizens of both countries, and this has not happened yet,” said Pawel Zalewski of the Polish ruling Liberal Civil Platform. According to him, Poland has not established diplomatic relations with Kosovo because of the fact that Polish president Lech Kaczynski and the government do not see eye to eye on whether the proclamation should be recognized at all. The Polish president has publicly stated that he would veto any effort by the government to open an embassy in Pristina or send an ambassador to Kosovo. The province's ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence in February 2008, a move rejected by Serbia as illegal.

Polish Post puts Kosovo "somewhere in Russia"

Poles who wish to send mail to Kosovo must write that it is being sent to Serbia/UNMIK, because post office workers have, for example, the Coco Islands, but not Kosovo, on their list of countries.

Reporters of the Rzeczpospolita daily tried to sent a package to Kosovo from the main post office in Warsaw. Even though a spokesperson claimed that Kosovo is "one of the 190 countries which people can send mail to", the employee that took the package decided to send it to Russia.

“Kosovo, that is somewhere in Russia,” she told the reporters, and when they tried to send it again a week later with the spokesperson intervening and "promising that Kosovo was on the list", the worker that day wanted to send the package to a place called Kosovo in Poland, because there is still no country of that name listed in southern Europe.

“The only way that the post office will accept a package being sent to Kosovo is if you write Serbia/UNMIK. Do they arrive? I am not sure,” Wojciech Stanislawski of the Center for Eastern Studies said, adding that he needed to send something work-related to Kosovo.

“The problem with the mail is that it shows that relations must be established between the Polish and Kosovo institutions. We should be consistent. Since we recognized its independence, we are obligated to, regardless of politics, cooperate in all possible fields, especially those that perform services for citizens of both countries, and this has not happened yet,” said Pawel Zalewski of the Polish ruling Liberal Civil Platform.

According to him, Poland has not established diplomatic relations with Kosovo because of the fact that Polish president Lech Kaczynski and the government do not see eye to eye on whether the proclamation should be recognized at all.

The Polish president has publicly stated that he would veto any effort by the government to open an embassy in Priština or send an ambassador to Kosovo.

The province's ethnic Albanians unilaterally declared independence in February 2008, a move rejected by Serbia as illegal.