Kosovo will submit a request for membership in the Council of Europe (CoE) "during this month, at the latest in January," Beta news agency reported.

Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj announced this.

Citing the website Lajmi, the agency reported that Hoxhaj said that if the request were submitted now, Kosovo could join the CoE "within two years."

He added that during that period, this institution "will mainly be chaired by countries that recognized Kosovo's independence."

"The Council of Europe, after the European Union, is one of the most important organizations in Europe, and we are the only ones in the region who are not its part. There are four countries that have recognized Kosovo and that are presiding," Hoxhaj is quoted as saying during a government session.

According to him, "Kosovo should show that it has stable institutions, that it is advancing the rule of law and protection of human rights."

Serbian Foreign Minister and First Deputy PM Ivica Dacic said that Pristina's announced application for membership in the Council of Europe needs to be dismissed as groundless since Kosovo does not meet the fundamental conditions for membership status because it is not a state.

Dacic said there were no grounds for such an application to be considered.