Kosovar President: Independence Without Belgrade Talks

Ibrahim Rugova (file photo) Prague, 18 May 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Muhamet Hamiti, who is Kosovar President Ibrahim Rugova's spokesman, told RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service yesterday that Rugova firmly believes that Kosovo must work towards independence without any preliminary negotiations with Belgrade.

Hamiti stressed that "there is no international document that treats Kosova as part of Serbia, so one cannot speak of a unilateral separation from Serbia but rather of completing a process by which Kosova will become a separate state."

He noted that ongoing work on a proposed constitution for Kosovo is simply sound preparation for when independence comes but does not constitute a unilateral declaration of independence in and of itself.