Acceptance of passports issued by so-called Kosovo is no recognition - Spanish FM

MADRID - Spanish FM Jose Manuel Albares has reiterated that Madrid's decision to accept passports issued by the so-called Kosovo did not mean a recognition and noted that such claims were a "hoax" by the Spanish opposition People's Party.

In an interview for El Periodico de Espana, Albares said Spain could not pretend the so-called Kosovo did not exist but that this did not mean it recognised its sovereignty.

"That territory of Kosovo is within the Western Balkans, and it goes to EU summits with the Western Balkans... We cannot pretend it does not exist. But that does not imply we recognise its sovereignty. I would ask the People's Party to stop making hoaxes it knows are hoaxes," he said, noting that the acceptance of passports was not a step towards a recognition of the so-called Kosovo.

Spain is one of the five EU member states that do not recognise the so-called Kosovo but have accepted passports issued by Pristina, he said.

The People's Party recently asked Albares to explain whether Spain had changed its position on the Kosovo-Metohija issue and whether the decision to accept the passports had been influenced by pressure from investment partners of Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez.