Albania welcomes EU decision to send mission to Kosova

TIRANA, Dec. 15 – The Albanian foreign ministry welcomed the decision of the European Union on Saturday to send a supervisory mission to Kosova.
“It is an important decision for the future of Kosova. It reflects the special situation in Kosova and its unique nature,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it was convinced that the decision precedes a step in which the EU would soon give its support to Kosova’s independence, which Albania considers as the only realistic solution to the Kosova issue.
EU leaders on Friday agreed to send a civil mission to Kosova to take care of security issues and oversee the rule of law and public administration in Kosova, whose fate is pending a U.N. decision.
Although Kosova is formally within Serbia, the southern province has been run by the United Nations and NATO since 1999, when a NATO alliance launched an air war that ended Serbia’s military campaign there.
Serbia insists Kosova is an integral part of its territory and that it will never part with it, while Kosova Albanians claim they will accept nothing short of independence.
Albania has always been a strong supporter of the independence of Kosova, 90 percent of whose 2 million people are ethnic Albanians. Albania is currently constructing a road across its mountainous border to link its port city of Durres with Kosova. Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha has said that his country was ready to open its border with Kosova if Serbia imposes a blockade on the province if it declares independence.