Macedonia leaves Pristina out of Ohrid summit
Kosovo’s “statehood” stumbled on the first regional test Monday, as Macedonia decided not to send an invitation for a Balkan summit due to the lack of consensus over its unilateral independence.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Thursday, May 01, 2008
Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski said that Kosovo failed to gain consensual support from all 19 attending states, leading to Skopje's decision to erase Pristina from the list of participants.
"As you know, some of the countries attending the forum have recognized Kosovo while others have clearly stated against that. This means that reaching a consensus on this issue is impossible. At the same time, Macedonia too has not built its position towards Kosovo so we can not invite it," Crvenkovski said.
However, the move enraged Kosovo leaders, with province's Premier Hashim Thaci warning Macedonia that "no one can ignore the independence of Kosovo".
The regional presidential summit is held on May 2-3 in the Macedonian lakeside resort of Ohrid, and will be attended by 17 heads of states.
