Thaci "hopes Kosovo will become UN member soon"

Thaci "hopes Kosovo will become UN member soon"

NEW YORK -- Kosovo's outgoing Prime Minister Hasim Thaci has said that "Kosovo has made progress" and he therefore hopes it will "soon become a member of the UN."

He addressed a UN Security Council meeting on Kosovo on Thursday and called on the members to acknowledge Kosovo's progress, adding that the new reality required courage to establish new relations between the UN and Kosovo, and that he was convinced it would happen very soon, with Kosovo becoming a member of the UN.

According to Thaci, "northern Kosovo has been a constant point of crisis, potential escalation of violence and uncertainty in terms of which laws and constitution apply there, and the Kosovo Serbs do not trust the government in Pristina."

This year was the year of cementing "Kosovo's territorial integrity," he pointed out.

The local and general elections were held under Kosovo's laws and completed successfully, with the people of Kosovo, the ethnic Albanians, Serbs and others, showed that they share the same hopes of a safe future and new jobs, he noted.

"The citizens of Kosovo today, regardless of they are, are not interested in nationalist speeches and dreams, but want jobs, prosperity and peace," he stated, adding that the international observers had said the elections had been free an democratic, and that the northern Kosovo had been integrated into the Kosovo system.

He remarked that Kosovo would create a special tribunal for war crimes and stressed that he "believes in justice."

Thaci listed the number of recognitions of Kosovo as reaching 108 as being "Kosovo's success" along with "becoming a member of the International Olympic Committee."