Kosovo Leaders Have No Right to Declare Independence: UN

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 09, 2002

Kosovo Leaders Have No Right to Declare Independence: UN

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The United Nations mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) said on Friday that the newly-elected Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova and Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi have no right to declare the region's independence.

UNMIK spokeswoman Suzan Manuel noted that the responsibility of Rugova and Rexhepi is to realize peace and stability in Kosovo and they do not have the right to decide the region's final status, according to reports by the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug.

Manuel said the new leaders are not entitled to annulling an agreement on the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244 and an agreement reached by the Yugoslav and Macedonian governments to demarcate their borders.

The agreement on the implementation of Resolution 1244, which was signed last November by the UNMIK and the Yugoslav government, ensures the territorial integrity of the Yugoslav Federation and rules out Kosovo's independence within three years.

On Thursday, Rugova told the local television that the top priority for the new government was to seek international community's recognition of Kosovo's independence and the new government would not honor the border agreement between Macedonia and Yugoslavia. Rexhepi made similar remarks on Friday.

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