Czech Republic to recognize Kosovo when ‘time is right’

The Czech government will deal with the issue of recognizing Kosovo “when the time is right”, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said on Thursday. The Czech Republic is aiming to maintain good relations with Serbia; in the European Union, the Czech Republic has made several positive steps towards Belgrade and it does not want to reverse its policies. Serbia is one of eight countries in transition which the Czech Republic has been assisting. The Czech Foreign Minister said that whether or not the Czechs recognize Kosovo will have no impact on the situation in the former Serbian province. Mr Schwarzenberg had already announced that the Czech Republic would recognize Kosovo after a majority of EU countries do so.