Eurasia Press & News
Former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari is optimistic Moscow will recognise Kosovo’s independence, now relations between the US and Russia are thawing.
The man who devised the blueprint for Kosovo’s supervised independence told Voice of America that it may take “some time in order for this to happen”.
“I hope that the recognition will come,” he added. “This is not a big issue and shouldn’t be exaggerated.”
He said the recognition issue was not mentioned in recent meetings between USA and Russia because the countries do not want to waste time talking about Kosovo, adding that “this is a good sign”.
The Nobel Prize for Peace winner said he was disappointed some EU countries have not recognized Kosovo yet but was optimistic they will do it sooner or later.
Ahtisaari was appointed in 2005 as the United Nations special envoy for talks on the final status of Kosovo, seven years after he played a key role in bringing an end to hostilities.
After no results in the talks between Serbian and Kosovo Albanian officials, he recommended “supervised independence” for Kosovo.
The Ahtisaari plan served as the basis for Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008, and the reforms it prescribed were pursued in the following months by Kosovo’s government.
