The Security Council agreed Thursday to reduce the number of meetings it holds on Kosovo under pressure from the United States and its European allies who say the U.N.’s most powerful body has more important crises to discuss.
Kosovo declared independence in 2008 from Serbia, a close ally of Russia which has refused to recognize its decision and had insisted on holding open meetings every three months.
Council members agreed ahead of a scheduled Thursday afternoon meeting on Kosovo to reduce the number of meetings to three gatherings this year and two in 2020, avoiding what would likely have been a contentious procedural vote.
Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Karen Pierce said: “If you look at the amount of conflict actually on the ground in Kosovo . there isn’t anything like the level of the issues that are dealt with in places like Yemen, or (Congo) or Haiti.”
