Kosovo satisfied with latest UN report

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo’s institutions have welcomed the UN’s latest quarterly report on Kosovo as “objective”, media reported on Saturday (March 21st). The report, due to be presented to the UN Security Council on Monday, describes the many challenges facing UNMIK in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and admits that most Kosovo citizens consider UNMIK an obstacle to local institutions. 

The Kosovo government still intends to request the end of UNMIK’s mandate, President Fatmir Sejdiu’s spokesman Dzavit Beqiri said, adding that Kosovo’s institutions should decide the fate of the country.

In other news, the US criticised Spain on Friday for its decision to pull its 620 troops from Kosovo by the end of June, US State Department spokesman Robert Wood said. “NATO allies agreed on the principle of ‘in together, out together’ [in 1999]. So we are surprised by this decision,” he said. At an EU summit in Brussels Friday, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero defended the withdrawal based on improved security in Kosovo.