TIRANA, June 30 – Albania criticized Kosova Serbs and Belgrade for creating their own parliament and ignoring Kosova’s declaration of independence in defiance of the United Nations.
On Saturday, a 45-member assembly, located in the Serb-controlled half of the divided town of Mitrovica, met for its first session. Serbs control about 15 percent of Kosova’s territory in the southeastern corner of Europe.
Prime Minister Sali Basha said the assembly has no legitimacy and called them an ugly imposition created by certain circles from Belgrade.
Basha urged Belgrade to respect Kosovar’s integrity and cooperate in achieving the joint goal of European integration.
Basha also said there would be no new talks on Kosova’s status as such talks had already concluded.
“Such talks have ended and have taken to a reality, Kosova is, nowadays, an independent state and internationally recognized,” he said, adding, however, that neighbors should normally consult each other on many topics.
A declaration adopted by the self-proclaimed parliament said that Kosova is “an inseparable part of Serbia,” that Kosova Serbs would abide by Serbian laws and its constitution and that Kosova’s secession was an illegal act.
Kosova’s President, Fatmir Sejdiu, said Kosovo Serb leaders were trying to destabilize the new country by creating a separate assembly and called the self-proclaimed parliament part of their “illegal structures.”
Albania against parallel Serb institutions in Kosova
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