- Title: KOSOVO-: Crimea is not Kosovo - Thaci
- Date: 27th March 2014
- Summary: PRISTINA, KOSOVO (MARCH 27, 2014) (REUTERS) KOSOVO GOVERNMENT BUILDING GOVERNMENT WORKERS ENTERING THE BUILDING VARIOUS OF KOSOVO PM HASHIM THACI WALKING IN HIS OFFICE SIGN IN THE DOOR READING "HASHIM THACI- PRIME MINISTER" (SOUNDBITE) (Albanian) KOSOVO PRIME MINISTER, HASHIM THACI, SAYING: "Under no circumstances can the Kosovo case be compared with the case of Crimea. Kosovo is a unique case." ONGOING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (Albanian) KOSOVO PRIME MINISTER, HASHIM THACI, SAYING: "Serbia committed genocide in Kosovo. We had our people, our territory. We never demanded to leave one country and join another and we had a coordinated process with the international community." KOSOVO/EU FLAGS (SOUNDBITE) (Albanian) KOSOVO PRIME MINISTER, HASHIM THACI, SAYING: "I think that the approach to change borders and annex territories from another country is a wrong approach that can have consequences for the whole world." VARIOUS OF STREET SCENE DOWNTOWN PRISTINA GOVERNMENT BUILDING MONITOR SHOWING KOSOVO FLAG/ PEOPLE PASSING BY THACI'S MOTORCADE LEAVING THE GOVERNMENT COMPOUND
- Embargoed: 11th April 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kosovo
- City:
- Country: Kosovo
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAB2861P9UBIT8NPAEL1BKU2JD7
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Russia should stop waving the case of Kosovo's independence from Serbia to justify its Crimea incursion because the two cannot be compared, Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said on Thursday (March 27).
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has criticized Western nations for what he called hypocrisy, saying they had endorsed Kosovo's right to self-determination and independence from Serbia but now denied Crimeans the right to leave Ukraine.
Thaci, who had led armed ethnic Albanian units in a 1998-99 guerilla war against Belgrade troops, said the former Serbian province, which became independent in 2008, had no similarities with the events in Ukraine.
"Under no circumstances can the Kosovo case be compared with the case of Crimea. Kosovo is a unique case," Thaci said.
"Serbia committed genocide in Kosovo. We had our people, our territory. We never demanded to leave one country and join another and in we had a coordinated process with the international community."
He said "the approach to change borders and annex territories from another country is a wrong approach that can have consequences for the whole world."
Thaci led the Kosovo Liberation Army's guerrilla campaign in 1998-99, which triggered a military crackdown and heavy reprisals by Belgrade. Today he is seen as a pro-Western face of Kosovo, with support from Washington and the major EU capitals.
In March 1999, NATO launched massive air strikes against Serbia, the alliance's first intervention on European soil, until Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic admitted defeat and withdrew his troops.
Milosevic died in a United Nations detention centre in 2006 while on trial on war crime charges.
The war killed more than 12,000 people, most of them ethnic Albanians, who make up the majority in Kosovo. Another 800,000 Albanian refugees were driven from their homes.
Kosovo's independence has been recognized by 107 countries. But Russia, Serbia's traditional ally, has refused to do so.
Moscow had been involved in all Kosovo-related diplomatic efforts from 1998 until 2007, when the United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari proposed independence for Kosovo. Since then it has blocked all attempts by Kosovo to join international organizations.
Land-locked Kosovo, with 1.7 million people, remains one of the poorest countries in Europe with a high level of crime and corruption keeping foreign investors away. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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