ALBANIA CLOSES DOWN KOSOVO DIPLOMATIC OFFICE IN TIRANA

TIRANA/PRISTINA, Oct 2 (Hina) - Albania has closed down the Kosovo diplomatic office in Tirana which Kosovo Albanians established in exile in 1993, the Albanian government reported on Wednesday. #L# The Albanian government made the decision to close the Kosovo Albanian diplomatic office at the request of the UN civil administrator in Kosovo, Michael Steiner, and informed the UN Mission to Kosovo (UNMIK) about it. The decision to close the office after ten years was made in light of the new situation in Kosovo and with full agreement between the Albanian government and the Kosovo authorities, Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta told the press. "We agreed that the foreign policy representation of Kosovo was in the exclusive jurisdiction of UNMIK," he said. Although the Kosovo Albanian diplomatic office was never internationally recognised, it was established to coordinate actions by Kosovo Albanians and Albanian authorities against the Serb authority in Kosovo. The Albanian parliament in 1991 unanimously recognised Kosovo as an independent state. (hina) lml sb