BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd August, 2020) Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo Avdullah Hoti says he has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be in isolation for two weeks.
"I have no symptoms, except for a very mild cough. Starting tonight, I will spend two weeks in self-isolation. I will be carrying out my responsibilities from home," Hoti said on his Facebook page on Sunday.
Last week, EU Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano said that a new meeting between the prime minister of Kosovo and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is expected to take place in September.
Since the collapse of Yugoslavia, the status of Kosovo has been viciously disputed between Serbia and Kosovo's Muslim Albanian population. In the 1990s, an armed struggle between Albanian separatists and Serbia prompted NATO to launch a military campaign against the latter. In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally announced its independence from Serbia. Russia, as well as the overwhelming majority of Latin American and Asian nations, do not recognize the self-proclaimed republic.
The EU-sponsored Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue was set up in 2011 to facilitate a political settlement.
According to Pristina health authorities, a total of over 8,700 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Kosovo and the COVID-19 death toll in the self-proclaimed republic stands at 249. More than 240 new cases and over a dozen new deaths were registered in the past 24 hours.
