Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, met yesterday Vanuatu ambassador to Brussels and permanent representative in UNESCO, Roy Mickey Joy. PM Mustafa informed Ambassador Joy of the progress in Kosovo and thanked him for the support to Kosovo’s UNESCO membership efforts. Vanuatu official on his part expressed his country’s full support for Kosovo joining UNESCO.
Kosovo’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Petrit Selimi, visited Rome and Vatican as part of lobbying for Kosovo to secure the support of the Holy See and Italy for Kosovo's membership in UNESCO. "The United States, France, Britain, Germany and Italy are on our side in our battle to join UNESCO. The battle will be tough, but we will succeed, " Selimi told the Italian news agency ANSA.
Serbia will have a great help of China in the modernization of country and official Beijing will consider more favorable conditions for financing the railway project Belgrade – Budapest. In addition Beijing will support all other Serbian projects – are the results of the visit of President Tomislav Nikolic to the second economy of the world.
The Serbian government and the Ministry of Culture and Information resolutely oppose admitting Kosovo to UNESCO, Minister of Culture and Information Ivan Tasovac has said in a letter sent to UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and over 190 culture ministers across the world.
Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic believes that Serbia can impede Kosovo's UNESCO membership in November by using diplomatic means and activating as many countries as possible to support its cause.
Dacic said that this topic would not be tabled in the first place, if Resolution 1244 was honoured.
The United States Committee on Foreign Affairs through social media expressed its support for Kosovo’s bid to join UNESCO, Indeksonline reports. The Committee, headed by Congressman Engel Eliot, in a Twitter post wrote that the world should support the membership of Kosovo in UNESCO, accompanied by a link to the Radio Free Europe article, which listed the arguments used by the Deputy Prime Minister Hashim Thaci on why Kosovo should join this international organization.
Kosovo minister without portfolio and chief negotiator in talks with Belgrade, Edita Tahiri, announced that the new round of talks will take place on 24 and 25 August in Brussels and will tackle Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, Iber bridge barricade and obstacles Serbia is presenting to implementation of agreement on energy. Tahiri said agreement of 13 April 2013 stipulates that Serbia should not hinder Kosovo in international integration and, as a result, in international institutions such as UNESCO.
Member of the Russian Academy of Arts Alexei Lidov told Sputnik that Kosovo will probably become a member of the UNESCO. Lidov is an expert of UNESCO, Director of the Research Center for Eastern Christian culture.
When asked whether the expectations of the Kosovo Foreign Minister Hashim Thaci regarding Kosovo’s admission to UNESCO in November are realistic, Russian academician said that there is a strong possibility that this happens.
President of the Citizens' Initiative Srpska and Mayor of Gracanica Vladeta Kostic believes that there are more important issues than membership of Kosovo in the UNESCO. “"We should think first about economic development rather than on issues that are not much in the interest of the citizens of Kosovo," said Kostic for TV Rokum in Pristina. He says that even if Kosovo join the UNESCO, not even one Serb or Albanian would get the job.
The Mayor of Gracanica, Vladeta Kostic, told Pristina-based Rrokum TV that he is against Kosovo’s membership in UNESCO because he doesn’t believe that the cultural heritage that was damaged and burned in 2004, would be preserved now. He said that there is no need for UNESCO to take care of the Serb heritage monuments since they are protected with the Ahtisaari plan. "I am against Kosovo's membership in UNESCO… I think there are other issues more important than UNESCO membership.