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Moscow believes Kosovo cannot seek UNESCO membership — Foreign Ministry

Being under the UN administration, Kosovo cannot seek membership of an international organization, says Moscow

© Gennady Lhameliyanin/TASS Archive

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MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. The voting in UNESCO has confirmed that Pristina’s bid to become its equal member was premature, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The 38th session of the UNESCO General Conference under way in Paris considered at a plenary session the draft resolution to admit Kosovo into the organization initiated by Albania and supported by some other countries," the ministry said.

"After long debates, that exposed major differences of the member countries on the issue, a voting took place and confirmed that Pristina‘s bid to become an independent member of UNESCO was premature," the ministry said.

"As a result of the voting, supporters of Kosovo membership failed to score the necessary two thirds of votes, while 50 states voted against this decision," the ministry continued. "Thus, the UNESCO General Conference confirmed its commitment to principles of international law, fixed in Resolution 1244 of the Security Council that remains fully valid," it added.

"Being under the UN administration, Kosovo cannot be considered as a state having legal personality, and thus it cannot seek membership of an international organization," the ministry said.

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