Slovak MFA denies "special Kosovo plan"

The Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs today denied that the country's foreign minister had a “special plan to solve the Kosovo problem”. Miroslav Lajcak has no such plan prepared and all reports about it are groundless, Slovak MFA spokesman Peter Stano told Tanjug news agency in Bratislava this Monday. Slovak MFA denies "special Kosovo plan" Stano's reaction came after Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik yesterday published an interview with Lajcak, saying in the article that the Slovak chief of diplomacy had a plan “on solving the issue of relations between Kosovo and Serbia”, after the ICJ opinion has been made public. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently deliberating the case sent to it by the UN General Assembly, in order to determine the legality under international law of the Kosovo Albanian unilateral declaration of independence made in early 2008. Belgrade rejected that proclamation as an illegal act, and it has not been recognized by five EU member-states, Slovakia among them. “Minister Lajcak has no special plan for Kosovo. He is distancing himself from what was written in the Dnevnik newspaper, and is underlining that his appraisals and answers given in the interview to that daily have been misinterpreted,” said the Slovak MFA spokesman. He also stated there was no information available on Kosovo reportedly being included in the agenda of the EU meeting in Brussels on May 10 – another claim found in Dnevnik's article. According to Stano, Lajcak told the newspaper about ways to improve the situation in Kosovo, and about his recent visit to Pristina. The spokesman added that Lajcak also said that Slovakia's representatives would discuss about Kosovo only within the EU framework and would not come up with “special plans”, – and that the minister reiterated Bratislava's position not to recognize the UDI.

Slovak MFA denies "special Kosovo plan"

Stano's reaction came after Novi Sad-based daily Dnevnik yesterday published an interview with Lajčak, saying in the article that the Slovak chief of diplomacy had a plan “on solving the issue of relations between Kosovo and Serbia”, after the ICJ opinion has been made public.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently deliberating the case sent to it by the UN General Assembly, in order to determine the legality under international law of the Kosovo Albanian unilateral declaration of independence made in early 2008.

Belgrade rejected that proclamation as an illegal act, and it has not been recognized by five EU member-states, Slovakia among them.

“Minister Lajčak has no special plan for Kosovo. He is distancing himself from what was written in the Dnevnik newspaper, and is underlining that his appraisals and answers given in the interview to that daily have been misinterpreted,” said the Slovak MFA spokesman.

He also stated there was no information available on Kosovo reportedly being included in the agenda of the EU meeting in Brussels on May 10 – another claim found in Dnevnik's article.

According to Stano, Lajčak told the newspaper about ways to improve the situation in Kosovo, and about his recent visit to Priština.

The spokesman added that Lajčak also said that Slovakia's representatives would discuss about Kosovo only within the EU framework and would not come up with “special plans”, – and that the minister reiterated Bratislava's position not to recognize the UDI.