Kosovo Abandons Bid to Join Interpol This Year

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has confirmed that the country is abandoning its attempts to join Interpol this year, after failing to secure enough support to join from existing members.

Haradinaj said membership of Interpol was an important "contribution to the fight against international crime and terrorism" and that Kosovo was "ready to assume its full responsibilities as an Interpol member".

However, he added that while many countries had expressed support for Kosovo's membership, it was "not in enough numbers for Kosovo to become a member.

"As Prime Minister, I have decided today to postpone Kosovo's request for an Interpol vote at the next meeting of this organization," he said.

He said he hoped to revive the issue at next year's meeting, which is in Abu Dhabi.

Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Behgjet Pacolli, earlier hinted that Kosovo might withdraw its application, less than one week before the vote on it was due to take place.

"I am sceptical and not encouraged at all to say that everything will go smoothly with this application, because the host of the summit has barred everything. They have not [even] granted our representatives visas," Pacolli told Pristina-based KTV on Wednesday.

A big problem for Kosovo is that the host of this year's Interpol General Assembly on September 26-29 is hostile China.
Alongside Russia and Kosovo's former ruler, Serbia, China is one of the staunchest opponents of the recognition of Kosovo's independence from Serbia, proclaimed in 2008.

Pacolli also criticized Kosovo's previous preparations. "Interpol membership requires hard work. When I assumed office, I saw that work had been done, but not as much as was needed," he...