Kosovo*: Its Footnote Is Both A Blessing And A Curse

RFERL 21 Abr 2024

For years, a simple asterisk affixed to the word Kosovo on official international documents and reports has eased diplomatic life for the fledgling country and former Serbian region. That asterisk leads to a footnote stating that Kosovo's status still remains to be resolved under tenets of UN Security Council Resolution 1244. "Since the status of Kosovo is the most sensitive issue in this conflict between Belgrade and Pristina, if [that] is left aside with a footnote, then the UN can work on other things, from the state building of Kosovo to the peace-building process between Kosovo and Serbia," said Pol Bargues, senior researcher at the Barcelona Center for International Relations, in comments to RFE/RL's Balkan Service. However, its usage has slipped somewhat in recent years, with the asterisk, for example, not visible on resolutions of the European Parliament, or in the documents of the Ohrid Agreement, a 2023 deal on normalizing ties between Serbia and Kosovo. The annotation is sometimes forgotten and sometimes left out of documents on purpose, said researcher Bargues, but "EU member states that do not recognize Kosovo, like Spain, always use it."

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