The Visegrad Four (V4) group and Slovenia did not have a joint position on the future of Kosovo whose leaders have threatened to declare independence from Serbia unilaterally, the prime ministers of the five countries said in Ostrava, east of the Czech Republic, on Monday.
"We don't have identical views, but it is good to know one another's opinions that we will present at the EU (European Union)Council on Friday," Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said.
The Visegrad Group was formed in 1991 in Visegrad, Hungary, by Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, with the aim of furthering cooperation among member countries.
Czechoslovakia was divided in December 1992 into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, both now members of the Visegrad Group.
Prime ministers of Visegrad countries and Slovenia, which will preside the EU from next January, jointly said the EU should deal with Kosovo's future and take into account the demands of Serbia as well.
"We insist that Kosovo's independence be a controlled process and that Serbia not be on the sidelines," Topolanek said.
Kosovo's independence cannot be prevented, but it should take place under EU's assistance as it does not concern the United States, Hungarian PM Ferenc Gyurcsany said.
It would be extraordinary difficult for Slovakia to recognize Kosovo as an independent state if its independence without the support from the relevant international organizations, Slovak PM Robert Fico said.
Mediated by the so-called troika, made up of the EU, Russia and the United States, leaders of Kosovo and Serbia have failed to forge a compromise in several rounds of direct negotiations on the status of Kosovo, a Serbian province, which has been administered by the U.N. since 1999.
The authorities of Kosovo, which is mostly inhabited by ethnic Albanians, insists on independence while Serbia will only offer broad autonomy.
As the Dec. 10 deadline set by the troika passed, the Serbian province is likely to declare independence soon with or without an agreement.
The EU is divided over whether to recognize Kosovo's independence from Serbia.
Source: Xinhua
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