Four
countries are about to
boycott the
summit for the
Western Balkans in
Sofia on May 17th. Integration of the
Western Balkans into the EU is a key priority of the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency and such a
boycott is a challenge to Bulgarian diplomacy, according to commentators.
Belgrade officially announced yesterday that it does not accept the
idea of participating in the meeting with Kosovo. Serbian Prime
Minister Ana Brnabić called the Kosovo presence t the
Western Balkans
summit in
Sofia on 17 May a "political nonsense".
Brnabić specified that "the decision to participate in this forum of
the Belgrade authorities will depend on Pristina's moves towards the
establishment of the Association of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo.
"Depending on this decision, Serbia will decide on its participation at the
summit on 17 May in
Sofia,
Bulgaria is our great partner, the European Union is our strategic
goal, and we want to have good communication. our country wants to
participate at this meeting, "said Anna Brnabić.
According to her, "Kosovo can not even be theoretically present in
this forum as a country.The European Commission is neutral on the status
issue, Kosovo is not a state but an area within the Republic of Serbia,
but five powerful EU Member States think that way," the Serbian Prime
Minister added.
"Regional stability is very important for Serbia, and we have the
greatest interest in having stability, because any kind of
destabilization can harm the results already achieved in the difficult
reforms we have made in the previous period," Brnabić said.
According to Vecernje Novosti, Romania, Cyprus and Spain will also
boycott the meeting in
Sofia because they do not want to be at a table with Pristina. Kosovo is
expected to be represented by President Hashim Thaçi. It is clear from
the material that Spain, Romania and Cyprus are likely to resort to
Plan B, that is, their representatives take part in the working dinner a day before the
summit,
and at the forum itself be represented by other member states. Even
weeks ago, there were reports that the Spanish Prime Minister refused to
attend the
summit in
Sofia over Kosovo.
Kosovo declared independence in February 2008. To date, over 100
countries around the world, including Bulgaria, have recognized the independence of the former Serbian province.
(novinite.com)