MADRID, August 19. /TASS/. Belgrade and Pristina could have their differences sorted out, Prime Minister of the unrecognized republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said in an interview with El Pais on Friday.
"Yes, I think that’s possible," Kurti said when asked if the dispute could be resolved before Kosovo’s hypothetical accession to the European Union. "In 2018, the European Commission said for the second time that Kosovo had met all the criteria and that visa liberalization [between Pristina and Brussels] should take place," he added. "Despite this, we still have a visa regime, but this has to do with some skeptical member [states]," he told the Spanish paper.
Kurti also said the authorities in Spain "should and will recognize" Kosovo’s independence. "I think that precisely by recognizing Kosovo, Spain would demonstrate that Catalonia and the Basque Country are completely different from our case," he insisted.
The Serbian Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija unilaterally declared independence in February 2008. In recent years, with the West’s backing, the breakaway province has been actively trying to join various international organizations, including UNESCO and Interpol. More than 60 countries, including Russia, India and China, as well as Spain and another four EU member states, oppose Kosovo’s recognition.