Four Countries Plan to Boycott the Summit in Sofia about the Western Balkans

Four countries are about to boycott the summit for the Western Balkans in Sofia on May 17th. Integration of the Western Balkans into the EU is a key priority of the Bulgarian EU Council Presidency and such a boycott is a challenge to Bulgarian diplomacy, according to commentators.

Belgrade officially announced yesterday that it does not accept the idea of ​​participating in the meeting with Kosovo. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić called the Kosovo presence t the Western Balkans summit in Sofia on 17 May a "political nonsense".

Brnabić specified that "the decision to participate in this forum of the Belgrade authorities will depend on Pristina's moves towards the establishment of the Association of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo.

"Depending on this decision, Serbia will decide on its participation at the summit on 17 May in Sofia, Bulgaria is our great partner, the European Union is our strategic goal, and we want to have good communication. our country wants to participate at this meeting, "said Anna Brnabić.

According to her, "Kosovo can not even be theoretically present in this forum as a country.The European Commission is neutral on the status issue, Kosovo is not a state but an area within the Republic of Serbia, but five powerful EU Member States think that way," the Serbian Prime Minister added.

"Regional stability is very important for Serbia, and we have the greatest interest in having stability, because any kind of destabilization can harm the results already achieved in the difficult reforms we have made in the previous period," Brnabić said.

According to Vecernje Novosti, Romania, Cyprus and Spain will also boycott the meeting in Sofia because they do not want to be at a table with Pristina. Kosovo is expected to be represented by President Hashim Thaçi. It is clear from the material that Spain, Romania and Cyprus are likely to resort to Plan B, that is, their representatives take part in the working dinner a day before the summit, and at the forum itself be represented by other member states. Even weeks ago, there were reports that the Spanish Prime Minister refused to attend the summit in Sofia over Kosovo.

Kosovo declared independence in February 2008. To date, over 100 countries around the world, including Bulgaria, have recognized the independence of the former Serbian province. 

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