The UN court issued its non-binding ruling on 22 July, deeming that Kosovo did not violate international law when it claimed secession from Serbia in February 2008 (EurActiv 23/07/10).
The ambassador stated that the ICJ decision ''proved that Kosovo did not breach international law and had the legitimate right to become a state'' and expects a new wave of recognition by countries yet to have done so.
''The ICJ decision will open a new path for Kosovo. Many states who were reluctant to recognise Kosovo because they were thinking that our independence is in contradiction with international law can now rethink their position,'' said the diplomat.
While she is hopeful that the EU will adopt a more united position on the issue, she confirmed that Kosovo would now be taking diplomatic steps to try and persuade the remaining EU countries – Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain – to formally recognise its independence.
''We are making lots of efforts to 'convince' these states that Kosovo does not set a precedent. It is a sui generis case, with very specific historical and political circumstances. Those member countries that haven't recognised us so far have internal problems, thus they think recognition of Kosovo can reflect negatively in their inner political realm. We will tell them that this is not the case and the ICJ ruling has proven that further,'' she said.
Reaffirming that Kosovo's ultimate goal is EU integration, Géci Sherifi sees UN membership as the next step in its bid to become a fully-fledged internationally-acknowledged country.
''Once we gain an increased number of recognitions, we hope to become a member of UN. If the majority of the nations holding a seat in the General Assembly of the UN recognise Kosovo as an independent state, then arguably the resistance of the Security Council would no longer matter,'' she said, referring to the anti-recognition positions of Security Council members Russia and China.
Kosovo 'will not set a precedent'
Asked whether the ICJ ruling would lead to similar attempts by separatist movements around the world – such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia – to claim their own independence, Géci Sherifi rejected the notion and said Kosovo would not back such moves.
''I don't think we can draw parallel lines with Kosovo and Georgia […] For us it was important to prove that our step was not against international law. Everyone who has a little bit of knowledge of the issue knows that the Kosovo case had specific historical and political circumstances,'' stated the diplomat.
''Of course, we would not support separatist movements, because we are also in line with international law. I am 100% sure that Kosovo will not create a precedent,'' she added.
