Hungarian Foreign Minister: No Kosovo membership in KiE vote

Hungary's Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter Szijarto, has said his state does not vote for Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe.

Szijjarto, who spoke before the start of the 46-member member states' Committee of Ministers meeting in KiE, which works in Strasbourg, France, stressed that the position of official Budapest has also announced the authorities of the Republic of Kosovo.

“We have a very clear stance, that we do not support Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, and here we have a principled stance that we have informed our friends in Kosovo, as well. This principled position is so ; We would like to see the finalisation of the talks between Pristina and Belgrade, and we believe, I'm speaking from experience how many times Kosovo has applied for membership in an international organisation, this has been a setback to dialogue”, the Hungarian top diplomat stressed.

The successful closure of Kosovo-Serbia talks, according to Szijjartos, is “the key to Kosovo's entry into international organisation”, Klankosova reported.tv.

“First dialogue must be successful then Kosovo must apply to membership. This is our overall position. Perhaps this is not the attitude of the majority, but in a fair way we have shared our positions even with Kosovars”, Szijjarto added.