Montenegro, Macedonia: We will not rush with the Kosovo decision
The presidents of Montenegro and Macedonia Filip Vujanovic and Branko Crvenkovski said they would not rush into a decision to recognize or not the secession of Kosovo, and asked the European Union for understanding their position.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, February 27, 2008
"Montenegro will not take any hurried decision and does not feel any need to hurry with it", Vujanovic said after meeting EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn in Brussels.
He said there were three reasons for such a "careful" move by Montenegro: preservation of internal stability and good relations between Serbs and Albanians in Montenegro, good relations with both Pristina and Belgade, and allignment with the European perspective of Podgorica.
Crvenkovski said Skopje would adopt a decision at a moment which suits best its state and national interests, and added that one of the factors for the delay for the fact that there was a division within the EU on recognition.
In Warsaw, Poland decided on Tuesday to become the 19th country to recognize Kosovo despite warnings from the country's president and the public opionion.
The Polish Orthodox Church immediately condemned the move.