Kosovo has confirmed to apply for a member of the Council of Europe (CoE), while Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced a day later that Pristina would apply for European Union (EU). Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) have a place in NATO, added President Vjosa Osmani.
In response, Nikola Selakovic, Serbian Foreign Minister, said that Serbia would resume its campaign of derecognising Kosovo. However, four more unnamed countries have withdrawn recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.
Being accepted into the continent’s top human rights organisation requires a two-thirds vote by members, and Kosovo says it has the voting 46-member body to be accepted.
One hundred seventeen countries have already recognised Kosovo, including the US and most of the European Union member states. Spain, Romania, Greece, Greek, Cyprus and Slovakia are EU nations that have not recognised Kosovo as an independent state.
Kurti, during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said, “We always aspire to EU candidate status, and we will apply by the end of the year,”
Scholz was called To reconciliate Kosovo and Serbia for more than two decades after the war, leaving about 13,000 dead Kosovar Albanians.
Later Scholz added Kosovo and Serbia to “find a political solution, through a comprehensive and lasting agreement that also contributes to regional stability,”
Kurti announced during a press conference with Scholz in Berlin that the country would apply for membership in the Council of Europe and Nato’s Partnership for Peace programme.
For many countries, this has been a precursor to Nato membership, which is also the aim of Kosovo.
The US supports Kosovo’s plan to join Nato’s Partnership for Peace programme, US ambassador Julianne Smith said on May 26 after Kurti expressed his country’s desire to join.
However, Smith also noted that all Nato’s decisions must be unanimous.
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