Kubiš: Slovakia's Kosovo stand justified

Slovak FM Jan Kubis says the fact only 40 states have recognized Kosovo shows Bratislava’s position was justified. “It’s not a matter of emotions. We believe that the element of stability is respect for international law,“ said Kubis in an interview with Slovakian daily SME. Kubis: Slovakia's Kosovo stand justified He said that only 40 UN member-states had recognized Kosovo in spite of, as he put it, the campaign by the big powers such as the U.S. and the EU. “Quite simply, we respect international law. For us, that’s the best guarantee that we will be an equal member of the international community, regardless of what happens,“ said the minister. He acknowledged that he could not however envisage the recognition process going backwards in terms of EU states withdrawing their recognition or Pristina renouncing the province’s independence. “We simply accept that as a reality, while at the same time making our own view clear. We’re in the same position as the majority of UN member-states,“ added Kubis. The minister echoed last week’s statement from the Slovakian Foreign Ministry that Bratislava would not recognize the new Kosovo passports that are going to be on issue from July 18. “We’ve decided to accept UNMIK passports,“ he said. Slovakia has thus far, citing security grounds, been the only EU state to accept only those Kosovo citizens carrying Serbian passports. “The fact that we’ll accept UNMIK passports still does not mean that we’ll just stamp a visa. We’ll look closely into the each application. We’ll apply precise rules in those cases, the same as for Serbian citizens. That also means cheaper visas, as for Serbian citizens,“ Kubis explained. Jan Kubis (Beta, archive)

Kubiš: Slovakia's Kosovo stand justified

He said that only 40 UN member-states had recognized Kosovo in spite of, as he put it, the campaign by the big powers such as the U.S. and the EU.

“Quite simply, we respect international law. For us, that’s the best guarantee that we will be an equal member of the international community, regardless of what happens,“ said the minister.

He acknowledged that he could not however envisage the recognition process going backwards in terms of EU states withdrawing their recognition or Priština renouncing the province’s independence.

“We simply accept that as a reality, while at the same time making our own view clear. We’re in the same position as the majority of UN member-states,“ added Kubiš.

The minister echoed last week’s statement from the Slovakian Foreign Ministry that Bratislava would not recognize the new Kosovo passports that are going to be on issue from July 18.

“We’ve decided to accept UNMIK passports,“ he said.

Slovakia has thus far, citing security grounds, been the only EU state to accept only those Kosovo citizens carrying Serbian passports.

“The fact that we’ll accept UNMIK passports still does not mean that we’ll just stamp a visa. We’ll look closely into the each application. We’ll apply precise rules in those cases, the same as for Serbian citizens. That also means cheaper visas, as for Serbian citizens,“ Kubiš explained.