EUbusiness (press release), UK
Feb 18 2008
Bulgaria ready to recognise Kosovo’s independence: minister
18 February 2008, 18:52 CET
(SOFIA) – Bulgaria said Monday it ultimately was prepared to
recognise Kosovo’s independence, even if it would not do so
immediately.
"Led by the principle for the necessity of stability in the region
and for solidarity with our partners in the European Union, I will
propose to the Bulgarian government to take a decision for
establishing diplomatic relations with the authorities in Kosovo,"
Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin said in a statement.
But he said Bulgaria’s recognition of Kosovo would not come
immediately.
"This decision will be closely linked to how the situation develops
in Kosovo over the coming weeks," Kalfin said.
Kalfin had warned in a newspaper interview published earlier in the
day that Kosovo’s declaration of independence Sunday threatened
Balkan stability and risked triggering a new cycle of violence.
"There are quite a few risks," he told the daily Monitor.
"The first is destabilisation and a return of violence to the Balkans
… which is extremely dangerous."
"A second risk, which should also not be underestimated, is the
emergence of a major frozen conflict in the Balkans, similar to those
seen in northern Cyprus, Transnistria, Abkhasia, South Ossetia and
Nagorno-Karabakh," the minister said, referring to other
independent-minded regions.
At a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels Monday,
the EU stressed that its 27 member nations should decide individually
whether to recognise Kosovo.
President Georgy Parvanov said his country’s position would depend on
a number of factors, such as what measures Kosovo takes to guarantee
the rights of minorities, including Serbs and Bulgarians.
For his part, Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev said Bulgaria
considered it important for the EU to keep the door open for Serbia
to join the bloc.
Bulgaria’s primary goal was to uphold a "European perspective" and
would push for "talks to sign a Stabilisation and Association
Agreement with Serbia," he said.
The so-called SAA is seen as the first step towards Serbia joining
the EU.
Stanishev travels Wednesday to Slovenia, which currently holds the
rotating EU presidency, for talks on Kosovo with his Slovenian
counterpart, Janez Jansa.