Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Urges Serbia to Get Over Kosovo

More than 24 hours later Bulgaria’s government has not reacted to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that Kosovo’s independence was not illegal.

The only document posted by the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry after the ICJ opinion on the independence of the newest Balkan nation became clear is a brief summary of the statement of the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.

The relevant recent statement of the Bulgarian Cabinet was made public Thursday morning, i.e. before the ICJ ruling was clear, and it practically boils down to urging Serbia to get over the loss of Kosovo.

“With respect to the upcoming consultative opinion of the International Court about the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia, we remark that the recognition of Kosovo by the the majority of the EU member states including Bulgaria is an irreversible fact, which not only does not reduce but actually intensifies the level of our efforts for accelerating Serbia’s EU accession. We are convinced that both countries must stop looking at their past, and must direct their efforts towards their European future, which has to do first and foremost with the success of their reforms,” states the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry.

The statement goes on to emphasize that all Western Balkan nations have a clear EU perspective but that it could be realized depending on the actions of the countries in the region.

“We expect to see Belgrade and Prishtina settle their relations through dialogue in the interest of peace, stability, and cooperation, and in the spirit of the founding values and principles of the EU,” it says.

Bulgaria recognized Kosovo several weeks after it declared indepedence in February 2008 together with Hungary and Croatia.

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