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19.08.2016

Sputniknews

Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has called on the Kosovar parliament to vote in favor of ratifying an agreement on border demarcation with Montenegro.

On Wednesday, US Vice President Joe Biden, while on a visit to Pristina, called on the Kosovar authorities to ratify the agreement. Thaci promised that the issue would soon be resolved.

n his Thursday address aired by Radio Television of Kosovo, Thaci stressed that delaying the ratification would put off the visa liberalization process and the process of NATO integration and "undermine" Kosovo’s EU future.

The Agreement for the Border Demarcation between Kosovo and Montenegro was signed by Thaci and his Montenegro counterpart Igor Luksic in 2015. The agreement is expected to be ratified by the assemblies of both respective countries in order for it to be implemented and come into force. Montenegro has repeatedly stressed that Podgorica has honored its side of the deal.

Kosovo’s president also called on Thursday for the fulfillment of an agreement with Serbia on the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO).

According to Biden, Kosovo's successful integration would contribute to the general prosperity of the region, but without ZSOs, Kosovo would remain isolated from the European Union and the United States.

ZSO is a planned association of predominately ethnic-Serb municipalities in Kosovo, which was expected to be created in 2015 but was indefinitely postponed due to disputes over powers.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, and has since been recognized by over a hundred UN member-states, including the United States. Belgrade considers Kosovo to be part of Serbia. Dozens of countries, including Russia, do not recognize Kosovo's sovereignty.

The European Union granted Serbia candidate status for membership in 2012, making accession to the bloc conditional on Belgrade implementing a number of reforms as well as recognizing Kosovo as an independent state.

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160819/1044418004/montenegro-border-demarcation-agreement.html