Balkans

The foreign ministers of Croatia and Slovenia – Gordan Jandrokovic and Samuel Zbogar – will meet in Slovenia next week. Though both ministries have confirmed the encounter, there has been no official announcement on the date and the venue. Slovenian media say the meeting

Slovakia’s former FM Miroslav Lajčak says Thursday’s ICJ Kosovo ruling cannot solve the “political problem of Kosovo”. Lajčak, who also served as his country’s ambassador in the Balkans, and as high internatonal representative in Bosnia, said he “cannot imagine peace in the Balkans without an agreement between Belgrade and Priština.

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic called an extraordinary sitting of the government to examine the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which ruled that Kosovo’s independence does not violate the international law.

Beijing announced today that it will continue to respect Serbia’s territorial integrity, and that it believes there is still room for new Kosovo status talks. The Chinese reaction came one day after the International Court of Justice ruled that the Kosovo Albanian unilateral declaration of independence did not breach international …

The International Court of Justice in The Hague missed to rule on the fundamental issue whether the Kosovo Albanians have the right to separate and left this issue to be decided by the UN General Assembly, said Serbian President Boris Tadic in a statement for the media after the court …

The International Court of Justice has found that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law or UN Resolution 1244, in a decision that could have a far-reaching impact in other parts of the world.

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci called for a ‘dignified celebration’ of the International Court of Justice’s ruling in favour of Pristina’s declaration of independence as protesters gathered in the flashpoint town of Mitrovica.

Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said that the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague rejects all suspicions around Kosovo’s independence. Sejdiu called for bigger international recognition of Kosovo. Up to now 69 countries have recognized Kosovo’s independence, including the US and most of the EU member states.

Kosovo Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice that Kosovo’s independence declared in 2008 does not violate the international law. “It is a great day for Kosovo. My message to Serbia is ‘come and talk to us’,” Hyseni remarked.

The United States has called on European countries to be united and support the ICJ ruling, “which said Kosovo’s independence was legal”. The top UN court today gave its advisory opinion on the legality under