Ghana Becomes 16th Country To Withdraw Recognition Of Kosovo - Belgrade

Ghana Becomes 16th Country to Withdraw Recognition of Kosovo - Belgrade

Ghana became the 16th state to withdraw its recognition of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, the Serbian Foreign Ministry said on Monday

BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2019) Ghana became the 16th state to withdraw its recognition of the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo, the Serbian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

"We are officially informed that the government of the Republic of Ghana believes that its 2012 decision to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and Metohija was over-hasty, and that this recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations constitute a violation of the Helsinki Accords and a fundamental violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244," the ministry said.

Apart from Ghana, the list of states that have revoked recognition of Kosovo includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Grenada, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Suriname and Togo.

In August, the US Embassy in Pristina published a joint appeal of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy to the authorities of Serbia and Kosovo to resume dialogue under EU auspices in Brussels. The appeal urged Pristina to lift the 100-percent tax on Serbian imports and Belgrade to stop lobbying the withdrawal of Kosovo's recognition among UN member states.

In the 1990s, Kosovo experienced an armed confrontation between Serbian security forces and the Albanian-led Kosovo Liberation Army, seeking the status of a constituent republic in what was then Yugoslavia. The conflict triggered unauthorized NATO airstrikes in the region from March 1999 to June 1999 on the grounds that the Yugoslav authorities were allegedly committing ethnic cleansing against Kosovar Albanians.

In February 2008, Kosovo unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia and has been recognized, as Pristina claims, by over 100 states. Serbia, along with China, Greece, Israel, Russia and several other states, does not recognize it.