J’lem takes wait-and-see approach to Kosovo
independence yesterday, and will form its position in the future, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday stated in a laconic announcement on the predominantly Muslim region’s secession from Serbia earlier in the day.
Officials in Jerusalem have expressed reservations about recognizing Kosovo as Advertisement
an independent state, citing the fact that the secession is unilateral. Advertisement
Several Israeli diplomats said recognizing the declaration could have implications on the Palestinian issue.
“The Government of Serbia considers this decision, made outside the auspices of the United Nations Security Council, illegal,” Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said in a statement on the declaration of independence.
Serbia’s leaders pledged peaceful resistance after Kosovo’s declaration, but some 2,000 angry protesters gathered at the United States Embassy in Belgrade to vent their anger at the American backing for the breakaway province. “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia,” many chanted.
Israel reserved on Kosovo
Published: 02/18/2008
Israel is taking a wait-and-see attitude toward Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia.
A statement from the foreign ministry Monday said that the Jewish state “was following the developments and will formulate its position later on.”
Kosovo was the southern region of Serbia where a war between the majority ethnic Albanians and Serb troops ended in stalemate in 1999, after which it was administered by the United Nations.
The ethnic Albanian government of Kosovo, backed by the United States and key European Union countries, is set to become Europe´s newest country.
Israel has strong historical ties to Serbia, which opposes Kosovo’s independence. In a December interview an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman told JTA that Israel would not be the first country to recognize Kosovo, but added it would not be the last.