UN chief "ignored Kosovo's independence" during visit

PRISTINA UN Secretary-General "ignored Kosovo's independence" during his visit there on Tuesday, Albanian language media in Pristina are reporting. According to them, it was for that reason that Ban decided to address reporters and meet with Kosovo officials at the airport in Pristina. UN chief "ignored Kosovo's independence" during visit Ban was in Kosovo as part of his tour of the region, and said ahead of the trip that it would be "in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1244", which ended the 1999 war. Serbia references the resolution as a guarantee of its territorial integrity, and rejects the ethnic Albanian unilateral declaration of independence, made in early 2008. Tanjug news agency is reporting on Wednesday, citing "high ranking sources in Pristina", that the decision to hold meetings with Kosovo officials at the airport instead of at the government or presidential offices came because Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin "opposed that idea in the strongest manner". In an attempt to downplay the importance of the fact that the his meeting with Ban took place at the airport, Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci said he regarded this as "a technical issue" - since he himself "happened to be at the airport on his way to Brussels". Pristina-based daily Koha Ditore is writing today that Ban chose the so-called neutral zone at the airport to meet with local officials, and that "compared to his visits to Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Serbia", while in Pristina, he was "careful to choose locations for meetings that had no state insignia of Kosovo". The newspaper also noted that Kosovo was recognized only by about half of UN member-states, and that the territory itself is "still not a UN member". The daily added that Ban did not hold any joint news conferences with is hosts, and choose a press room at the airport for the photo-op with Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga. But, the article continued, Jahjaga "managed to take the photo with the UN secretary-general in front of a framed declaration of Kosovo's independence, and a photograph of Adem Jashari". The airport in Pristina is named after this former leader of the now disbanded so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Jashari, considered a terrorist by the authorities, was killed in clashes with the Serbian police. Jahjaga's office later sent her photograph taken with Ban, in the said decor, to the media. Another Albanian language daily, Zeri, is also focusing on the airport photographs and symbols today, saying that Ban "avoided the flag (of Kosovo), but not Adem (Jashari)". Bota Sot daily - which is close to the opposition Democratic Alliance of Kosovo - says that Ban "ignored the symbols and independence of Kosovo". An editorial published on Wednesday criticizes officials in Pristina for agreeing to meet and take photos with the UN secretary-general "without the symbols of the state of Kosovo", and concludes that "the president and the prime minister openly demonstrated that they are not capable of defending their state even in Pristina, let alone in New York or Brussels". Instead of a flag of Kosovo, there were "cookies made in Serbia" placed on the table during Jahjaga's meeting with Ban, added this newspaper. Tanjug news agency went to the trouble of double checking this detail, and was told by Jahjaga's cabinet that the cookies were indeed present, but "made by a Kosovo producer". Another Pristina daily, Express, writes today that Ban "visited religious sites, met with priests and imams and talked about UNMIK's successes", and adds: "Five years after the declaration of independence, the United Nations still see Kosovo as their protectorate." Ban addresses reporters at the airport in Pristina (Tanjug) Ban admitted new reality, says Thaci Hashim Thaci, who heads the government in Pristina, issued a statement on Tuesday after his meeting with Ban Ki-moon at the airport, to assert that the visiting UN chief had "admitted the new reality in Kosovo", as well as "the aspirations of the people of Kosovo to be part of the Euro-Atlantic integration". A day after President Tomislav Nikolic conveyed to Ban that Serbia would seek that talks with the interim authorities in Pristina now be conducted in the presence of UN representatives, Thaci said that the UN "has no role in this dialogue and that a precondition for further talks is implementation of all agreements reached with the mediation of the EU". He further said that "more than half of UN member states have recognized Kosovo", and that he informed Ban of current political developments "and the great progress made in the country after independence". "I informed him that monitoring the process of independence will be completed in the fall, that constitutional amendments will be made and that it is an extremely important moment for Kosovo," Thaci stated. Tanjug

UN chief "ignored Kosovo's independence" during visit

Ban was in Kosovo as part of his tour of the region, and said ahead of the trip that it would be "in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1244", which ended the 1999 war. Serbia references the resolution as a guarantee of its territorial integrity, and rejects the ethnic Albanian unilateral declaration of independence, made in early 2008.

Tanjug news agency is reporting on Wednesday, citing "high ranking sources in Priština", that the decision to hold meetings with Kosovo officials at the airport instead of at the government or presidential offices came because Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin "opposed that idea in the strongest manner".

In an attempt to downplay the importance of the fact that the his meeting with Ban took place at the airport, Kosovo PM Hashim Thaci said he regarded this as "a technical issue" - since he himself "happened to be at the airport on his way to Brussels".

Priština-based daily Koha Ditore is writing today that Ban chose the so-called neutral zone at the airport to meet with local officials, and that "compared to his visits to Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Serbia", while in Priština, he was "careful to choose locations for meetings that had no state insignia of Kosovo".

The newspaper also noted that Kosovo was recognized only by about half of UN member-states, and that the territory itself is "still not a UN member".

The daily added that Ban did not hold any joint news conferences with is hosts, and choose a press room at the airport for the photo-op with Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga. But, the article continued, Jahjaga "managed to take the photo with the UN secretary-general in front of a framed declaration of Kosovo's independence, and a photograph of Adem Jashari".

The airport in Priština is named after this former leader of the now disbanded so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

Jashari, considered a terrorist by the authorities, was killed in clashes with the Serbian police.

Jahjaga's office later sent her photograph taken with Ban, in the said decor, to the media.

Another Albanian language daily, Zeri, is also focusing on the airport photographs and symbols today, saying that Ban "avoided the flag (of Kosovo), but not Adem (Jashari)".

Bota Sot daily - which is close to the opposition Democratic Alliance of Kosovo - says that Ban "ignored the symbols and independence of Kosovo".

An editorial published on Wednesday criticizes officials in Priština for agreeing to meet and take photos with the UN secretary-general "without the symbols of the state of Kosovo", and concludes that "the president and the prime minister openly demonstrated that they are not capable of defending their state even in Priština, let alone in New York or Brussels".

Instead of a flag of Kosovo, there were "cookies made in Serbia" placed on the table during Jahjaga's meeting with Ban, added this newspaper.

Tanjug news agency went to the trouble of double checking this detail, and was told by Jahjaga's cabinet that the cookies were indeed present, but "made by a Kosovo producer".

Another Priština daily, Express, writes today that Ban "visited religious sites, met with priests and imams and talked about UNMIK's successes", and adds:

"Five years after the declaration of independence, the United Nations still see Kosovo as their protectorate."

Ban admitted new reality, says Thaci

Hashim Thaci, who heads the government in Priština, issued a statement on Tuesday after his meeting with Ban Ki-moon at the airport, to assert that the visiting UN chief had "admitted the new reality in Kosovo", as well as "the aspirations of the people of Kosovo to be part of the Euro-Atlantic integration".

A day after President Tomislav Nikolić conveyed to Ban that Serbia would seek that talks with the interim authorities in Priština now be conducted in the presence of UN representatives, Thaci said that the UN "has no role in this dialogue and that a precondition for further talks is implementation of all agreements reached with the mediation of the EU".

He further said that "more than half of UN member states have recognized Kosovo", and that he informed Ban of current political developments "and the great progress made in the country after independence".

"I informed him that monitoring the process of independence will be completed in the fall, that constitutional amendments will be made and that it is an extremely important moment for Kosovo," Thaci stated.