Cyprus says will not change stance on Kosovo

HELSINKI (Reuters) – Cyprus will not rethink its opposition to Kosovo’s “unilateral declaration” of independence under any circumstances, Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis said on Thursday.

The Cypriot minister said she respected the position of other European Union members, but that for Cyprus the issue was one of principle.

“On the issue of recognition I can tell you very frankly: there is no room for change of our position,” she told a news conference in Helsinki.

Ethnic Albanians in the southern Serbian province are expected to declare independence sometime after Serbia‘s presidential election on Sunday.

Cyprus‘s stance on the Kosovo issue in the EU could be crucial. Diplomats say a simmering defence row between Turkey and Cyprus could endanger European security forces in Kosovo by preventing closer cooperation between the EU and NATO missions.

But Kozakou-Marcoullis said the deployment of a mission in Kosovo and the recognition of the independent state were two separate issues. “We are still under discussion with our partners in the European Union to reach a common understanding regarding the deployment of the ESDP mission,” she said.

“As long as this issue of recognition is dissociated from the issue of deployment, we don’t feel any pressure.”