Unesco rejects membership for Kosovo in victory for Serbia

Members of the UN cultural agency narrowly rejected Kosovo’s bid for membership Monday, in a victory for Serbia and Russia and a blow to Kosovo’s mission for global recognition as a state.

Most nations that participated in the vote at Unesco headquarters in Paris favored Kosovo’s membership, with 92 “yes” votes and 50 “no” votes and 29 abstentions.

The bid needed the support of two-thirds of those voting, or more than 94 “yes” votes, said Stanley Mutumba Simataa, the Namibian diplomat presiding over the vote.

In Pristina, Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga told The Associated Press that the narrow vote was a “missed opportunity” for UNESCO, but vowed to push on with efforts to become “an equal member of the international community.”

Serbian officials, on the other hand, were jubilant. “This decision reflects our intention never to give up Kosovo,” foreign minister Ivica Dacic said in hailing the diplomatic triumph.

The heated debate highlighted east-west battle lines and tapped into concerns in some countries with their own separatist movements.

Kosovo has been recognized by 111 countries since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Russia, which backed Serbia in Kosovo’s 1998-99 war for independence, has used its UN Security Council veto to block Kosovo from becoming a full UN member.