Slovak MFA on Kosovo: Our 2007 position remains in force, we do not recognize unilateral declarations of independence

The Declaration of the Slovak parliament from 2007 regarding Kosovo remains in force, the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a written response to Kosovo Online following a statement by EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos about “encouraging signs regarding EU member states that do not recognize Kosovo.”

In its response, the Slovak MFA stated that its position is based on the declaration of the Slovak parliament from March 2007.

“As is well known, our position is based on the Declaration of the Slovak parliament from March 2007, which stipulates the following: the resolution of the future status of the province of Kosovo must be based on respect for the legitimate demands of Serbia, as well as the Charter of the United Nations and other norms of international law. It is expected that the Slovak government will seek a common solution regarding the future regulation of relations in the Western Balkans in cooperation with other EU member states, with a clear perspective of the integration of the Western Balkans countries into the EU.”

The response further emphasizes that the mentioned declaration remains in force.

“Based on the above parameters, Slovakia supports the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina under EU mediation. Its outcome will be considered by the competent authorities of Slovakia in terms of meeting the requirements of the above-mentioned declaration. Slovakia and its diplomacy uphold principled positions in other related issues as well, based on international law, and therefore do not recognize unilateral declarations of independence in other cases, such as Crimea, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria and similar situations,” the Slovak MFA stated.

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos recently said that she is “following what is happening” regarding the five EU member states that have not yet recognized Kosovo and that the “development is encouraging,” without specifying further what she meant.

Kos made the statement at a session of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, responding to a question from the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Kosovo Riho Terras about what the European Commission is doing regarding the five countries that have not recognized Kosovo and how it should act in that regard.