Post by Fender on Jun 5, 2009 8:30:11 GMT -5
Vujanoviæ explains Kosovo snub
4 June 2009
Filip Vujanoviæ (FoNet, archive)
Kosovo Pres. Fatmir Sejdiu was not invited to today’s summit of South-East European leaders in Cetinje because Kosovo is not a UN member, says Filip Vujanoviæ.
After talks with UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura on Wednesday evening, the Montenegrin president pointed out that the summit in Cetinje was being held in cooperation with UNESCO and the Council of Europe, which had their own rules.
Reiterating that Sejdiu had not been invited to the summit last year when it was held in Athens, Vujanoviæ said that UNESCO wa a specialized UN organization, of which Kosovo was not a member.
“We care about fostering good relations with Kosovo, but we have followed UNESCO's rules. Therefore, the summit will be held with the attendance of the participants already announced,“ he said, Montenegrin media reported.
The summit will be attended by Albanian President Bamir Topi, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, Stjepan Mesiæ of Croatia, Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov, Slovenian President Danilo Turk, Bosnia-Herzegovina presidency member Nebojša Radmanoviæ, Vujanoviæ and Tadiæ.
Two Albanian parties in Montenegro have condemned Vujanoviæ’s decision not to invite Sejdiu, stating that his decision was not in the spirit of the government’s earlier decision to recognize Kosovo’s independence.
Vujanoviæ, who met last night with Mesiæ, Ivanov, Radmanoviæ and Topi, said that those talks had been an opportunity to repeat that Montenegro had no open issues with any of its neighbors in the region.
“During those talks, we encouraged communication and cooperation between governments and citizens in the region,“ he said.
UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura and Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis will also be attending today's summit.
Kosovo press miffed at perceived snub
Montenegro has joined the trend of snubbing Kosovo's top officials, started by Macedonia, Priština daily Koha Ditore writes on Thursday.
Montenegrin President Filip Vujanoviæ ignored his Kosovo counterpart Fatmir Sejdiu and failed to invite him to the summit of South-Eastern European heads of state, which is being held in Cetinje, says the daily.
The Kosovo daily states that the Montenegrin president’s decision was driven by the fact that Serbian President Boris Tadiæ refused to attend the meeting if Sejdiu was going to be present too.
The official line in Priština is that the meeting was organized by UNESCO, and that Kosovo is not a member of the United Nations.
Presidential spokesman Dxavit Beqiri told the daily that “UNESCO is a UN organization that is status-neutral on Kosovo.”
Likewise, the Kosovo government denies that there has been any snub.
Government spokesman Memli Krasniqi said that the organization of various conferences and rallies could not be used to generalize matters and relations between countries at an official level.
Meanwhile, opposition MPs blame the Kosovo institutions for their neighbors’ conduct.
In late May, Sejdiu refused to travel to Skopje to attend the inauguration of new Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov after the nature of his visit was altered.
4 June 2009
Filip Vujanoviæ (FoNet, archive)
Kosovo Pres. Fatmir Sejdiu was not invited to today’s summit of South-East European leaders in Cetinje because Kosovo is not a UN member, says Filip Vujanoviæ.
After talks with UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura on Wednesday evening, the Montenegrin president pointed out that the summit in Cetinje was being held in cooperation with UNESCO and the Council of Europe, which had their own rules.
Reiterating that Sejdiu had not been invited to the summit last year when it was held in Athens, Vujanoviæ said that UNESCO wa a specialized UN organization, of which Kosovo was not a member.
“We care about fostering good relations with Kosovo, but we have followed UNESCO's rules. Therefore, the summit will be held with the attendance of the participants already announced,“ he said, Montenegrin media reported.
The summit will be attended by Albanian President Bamir Topi, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, Stjepan Mesiæ of Croatia, Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov, Slovenian President Danilo Turk, Bosnia-Herzegovina presidency member Nebojša Radmanoviæ, Vujanoviæ and Tadiæ.
Two Albanian parties in Montenegro have condemned Vujanoviæ’s decision not to invite Sejdiu, stating that his decision was not in the spirit of the government’s earlier decision to recognize Kosovo’s independence.
Vujanoviæ, who met last night with Mesiæ, Ivanov, Radmanoviæ and Topi, said that those talks had been an opportunity to repeat that Montenegro had no open issues with any of its neighbors in the region.
“During those talks, we encouraged communication and cooperation between governments and citizens in the region,“ he said.
UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura and Council of Europe Secretary General Terry Davis will also be attending today's summit.
Kosovo press miffed at perceived snub
Montenegro has joined the trend of snubbing Kosovo's top officials, started by Macedonia, Priština daily Koha Ditore writes on Thursday.
Montenegrin President Filip Vujanoviæ ignored his Kosovo counterpart Fatmir Sejdiu and failed to invite him to the summit of South-Eastern European heads of state, which is being held in Cetinje, says the daily.
The Kosovo daily states that the Montenegrin president’s decision was driven by the fact that Serbian President Boris Tadiæ refused to attend the meeting if Sejdiu was going to be present too.
The official line in Priština is that the meeting was organized by UNESCO, and that Kosovo is not a member of the United Nations.
Presidential spokesman Dxavit Beqiri told the daily that “UNESCO is a UN organization that is status-neutral on Kosovo.”
Likewise, the Kosovo government denies that there has been any snub.
Government spokesman Memli Krasniqi said that the organization of various conferences and rallies could not be used to generalize matters and relations between countries at an official level.
Meanwhile, opposition MPs blame the Kosovo institutions for their neighbors’ conduct.
In late May, Sejdiu refused to travel to Skopje to attend the inauguration of new Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov after the nature of his visit was altered.