Above: Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj (UN Photo/Evan Schneider)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Antiguan Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer recently received Kosovo Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj for talks on the matter of Kosovo’s recognition as an independent state, the government announced today.
Hoxhaj said he was seeking Antigua’s support to recognize his country as an independent states.
Spencer said that while he was “sympathetic” to the people of Kosovo and their push for independence, Antigua would continue to support the United Nations process geared toward ensuring that Kosovo meets all necessary criteria according to the 1933 Montevideo Convention on the rights of states.
Spencer said that process should be allowed to take its course.
The matter of Kosovo’s potential recognition is a point of discussion among CARICOM’s Council for Community and Foreign Relations.
Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in February 2008 has not received recognition from a number of countries, including China.
It is not clear what impact Antigua and China’s increasingly strong relationship would have on Antigua’s decision whether to recognize Kosovo.