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| Europe | |
| Spain remains opposed to Kosovo independence | |
| 2009-03-10 | |
| MADRID - Spain remains opposed to the independence of Kosovo by “political conviction” and in line with international law, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Monday. Zapatero spoke at a joint press conference with Serbian President Boris Tadic, who was on his first state visit to Spain. Spain is one of the few countries not to have recognized the independence Kosovo declared in 2008, allegedly for fear that it could encourage separatist tendencies in Spanish regions. Spain gave its backing to Serbia’s aspiration to join the European Union, with Zapatero expressing hope that the country with a ”European vocation” could present its candidature “within the shortest possible time.” The process has been blocked by the Netherlands, which is not satisfied with Serbian cooperation with the international war crimes tribunal on former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Zapatero said cooperation with the tribunal had improved, as shown by the arrest of former Bosnian-Serb president Radovan Karadzic in July. Tadic saw no contradiction between Spain opposing the independence of Kosovo and having peacekeepers there.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #8 For now. Just remember Bosnians hilaing Saddam. |
| Posted by: JFM 2009-03-10 18:54 |
| #7 Kosovo does allow the construction of churches. They're all over. And the Kosovars are quite pro-American. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-03-10 16:46 |
| #6 Kosovo is a dirty little muslim entity that doesn't allow building of churches. Recognition of that speck, legitimates ethnic cleansing. |
| Posted by: Angosing Squank6622 2009-03-10 14:19 |
| #5 Catalonia or Basque...or any other little region with a little different ethnicity looking to break away. Kosovo independence establishes a dangerous precedent. Just ask the Macedonians. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2009-03-10 14:17 |
| #4 The only problem with that explanation, Fred, is that I'm not certain Zapatero is a nationalist, or cares much for Spain. Also, according to this electoral map, Catalonia voted for him. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-03-10 11:54 |
| #3 Fred for the win. Zappy never even felt the knife slip under his ribs, until you twisted the blade and out popped a kidney. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-03-10 10:55 |
| #2 If Kosovo's not a state, neither is Catalonia. |
| Posted by: Fred 2009-03-10 10:31 |
| #1 This makes perfect sense if you look at it at the right angle. If Kosovo's not a state, it can be run indefinately by the UN and/or the EU. Imagine a bureaucracy without any elections _ever again_. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-03-10 00:14 |
