Hungary has officially recognized Kosovo as an independent state, State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Maria Fekszi Horvath told a news conference in Budapest on Wednesday.
The state secretary said that the government has instructed the foreign minister to submit a proposal to the president on establishing diplomatic relations with Kosovo, and President Laszlo Solyom can make a decision in a day or two.
She said that the Serbian government has an interest in sparing ethnic Hungarians of Vojvodina from any incident in the wake of Kosovo's recognition, and both Hungary and Serbia should pay keen attention to minorities living in their territory.
The state secretary did not rule out that the intensity of Hungarian-Serbian relations would be affected temporarily.
Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic on Wednesday warned that countries recognizing the "illegally declared state of Kosovo" cannot count on good relations with Serbia.
The state secretary said that Hungary coordinated this step with the United States and the European Union, and all parliamentary parties supported the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state.
A statement issued by the Hungarian government spokesman's office on Wednesday said that Kosovo's institutions should guarantee a multi-ethnic state based on the principles of democracy and of a constitutional state, which guarantee rights to the Serbian community and to other ethnicities, including their participation in those institutions.
Bulgaria and Croatia are set to join Hungary in recognizing Kosovo's independence. The statement said that all three countries will continue to support efforts by the EU and NATO to create stability and democratic institutions in Kosovo.
The three countries are interested in further developing their ties with an economically prosperous, Europe-oriented Serbia, which maintains friendly relations with its neighbors, the statement added.
Meanwhile, according to reports reaching here, Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Lyubomir Kyuchoukov met with Serbian Ambassador to Bulgaria Danilo Vucetic on Wednesday and informed him that Bulgaria will declare its recognition of Kosovo on Thursday.
Source:Xinhua
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