The deputy head of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO), Johann Gudenus said that Kosovo is not a war affected region, and yet thousands of people are in front of the borders of Austria.

During a private visit to Vatican, Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga unsuccessfully tried to persuade Pope Francis to recognize the independence of Kosovo. During the meeting, which lasted 40 minutes, Jahjaga informed the Pope that Kosovo is now recognized by 108 countries and expressed hope that he supports "a vision of an independent Kosovo." She particularly emphasized gratitude to Vatican for “the role it had in difficult times for Kosovo”. 

Interview: Michael Kirby, US Ambassador to Serbia

How do you comment on the various statements of Serbian officials related to the connection between EU accession talks and Kosovo? President Nikolic says that we cannot join the EU until we recognize Kosovo, while Foreign Minister Dacic and Prime Minister Vucic insist that such a requirement (to choose between Kosovo and the EU) no one had set.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Crimea, part of Ukraine which is annexed to Russia, the same way as Kosovo, held a referendum and adopted the Declaration of Independence.

At a press conference in Moscow, he recalled the right of peoples to self-determination under the UN Charter. He said he is surprised because in the situation with the declaration of independence of Kosovo, "White was called white" and "in a similar situation with the Crimea - black."

“Spain is deeply convinced that the support of the United States and other countries for the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo is a huge mistake,” said Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of Spain in Belgrade, Inigo Ramirez de Aro Valdes, noting that Catalan separatism is not supported.

Ramirez de Aro said that the Catalan separatism has no international support, because "recognition of unilateral declarations causes global chaos and a map of the world turns into a pointless war pattern".

President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, has been making the most of her visit to the United States. Earlier in her visit, she requested recognition of Kosovo’s independence by Singapore and South Sudan but yesterday she asked the Slovakian President, Andrej Kiska, to do the same. Jahjaga is reported to have briefed Kiska on the progress Kosovo has made and stressed that independence of Kosovo is now an international reality recognised by 108 countries and is irreversible.

President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, met in New York with the Foreign Minister of the Bahamas, Frederick Mitchell, with whom she discussed processes important for Kosovo’s international consolidation and membership in international organisations. Jahjaga said that since declaration of independence in 2008, Kosovo has made a great deal of progress and has turned into a factor of stability in the region and strong promoter of good neighbourly relations.

President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga, met in New York with the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Iyad Madani, with whom she discussed current developments in Kosovo, international consolidation and the European perspective of the western Balkans.

President Jahjaga emphasized that Kosovo is a country that promotes peace and good neighbourly relations in the region and strives to gain membership in all relevant international organisations, states a press release issued by the President’s Office.

The outgoing Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Petrit Selimi, writes that the visit of Pope to Albania, was the story which dominated media during the weekend. Also, over 300 thousand Albanians who waited on him, published thousands of pictures in social networks, while government and opposition politicians spoke about the importance of this visit.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Enver Hoxhaj, said that independence of Kosovo will soon be recognized by two more countries. Hoxhaj told Epoka e Re that Kosovo has gained a number of recognitions this year that proved the process is unstoppable.

“I expect certain countries to decide to recognize Kosovo by the end of the year”, said Hoxhaj adding that 2014 was more a year of multilateral diplomacy and that a priority was to gain membership in different international organisations.