Rupel Blasts Former President's Views on Kosovo

"Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel on Tuesday rejected the first Slovenian president's criticism of the EU's Kosovo policy. Rupel linked Kosovo's declaration of independence to Slovenia's 17 years ago in an op-ed that appeared the daily newspaper Delo.

Former President Milan Kucan criticised the international community over Kosovo last week, saying it had shown disregard for the principle that unilateral moves should not be allowed to alter state borders.

Rupel responded to this claim by noting that the Badinter arbitration commission ruled in 1991, without the endorsement of the federal government, that parts of Yugoslavia had the right to found their own states.

The minister argued that the ruling also applies to Kosovo and Vojvodina, provinces that in the former Yugoslavia had a status similar to that of the six republics that subsequently became independent states. Kosovo and Vojvodina were also members of the Yugoslav presidency, which Rupel said was a further proof of their equal status within the federation."

Source: Slovenian Press Agency