Lithuania recognizes Kosovo’s secession
The Lithuanian parliament has recognized Kosovo's unilateral secession on Tuesday, after a several-week long procedure launched following the Pristina declaration in mid-February.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The decision followed a heated debate in the Lithuanian Seimas.
In opposition to the recognition of Kosovo's independence, Order and Justice MP Julius Veselka said Lithuania is especially active in supporting Georgia's quest to maintain control over the separatist Abkhazia and South Ossetia territories, but that the country's stance with regards to Kosovo is completely opposite.
"Why don't Lithuanians want to grant independence to Ossetians and Abkhazians, while they do so with the Kosovo Albanians," the MP said.
Social Liberal MP Vaclovas Stankevcius, on the other side, said that given such animosity between Serbs and Albanians, there is nothing left other than separating the two sides of the conflict with national borders.
A total of 39 out 192 UN member countries have recognized Kosovo's unilateral secession.
