Portuguese president: Kosovo’s independence was “very abnormal”, Lisbon must be careful
Portuguese president Anibal Cavaco Silva says Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence was “abnormal” and that Lisbon shoul carefully consider any recognition.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, March 31, 2008
"The unilateral declaration of independence is something very abnormal, there are no provisions for it in international law," Silva said.
"Given the abnormal situation and without forgetting that we have 300 men, 300 Portuguese, 300 soldiers in Kosovo, we must be very careful," he added.
While he would not make a final statement on the issue, Cavaco Silva said that "when there is no perfect solution we must think and be careful to choose the right one".
In Paris, former French interior minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement said he has for a long time been pointing to the risks of recognizing Kosovo independence by bypassing international law.
The only solution would be to organize an international conference on the Balkans at which all problems would be discussed, he said.
Whatever French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner may say, the decision to recognize Kosovo independence is contrary to international law principles, Chevenement said.
In Vienna, MEP Andreas Moelzer has said that the European Union had done everything wrong regarding Kosovo.
Through its biased stand, Brussels has encouraged Kosovo Albanians to secede from Serbia, while on the other hand it does not allow Serbs the right to self-determination.
