Addressing Kosovo Assembly, UN envoy pays tribute to late President

The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo today delivered an address to the province's Assembly in tribute to the memory of its late President, Ibrahim Rugova.

“We were all, of course, aware of the seriousness of the President's illness, but still yesterday's news was a shock,” said Soren Jessen-Petersen. Mr. Rugova was battling lung cancer at the time of his death on Saturday.

The UN envoy recalled his first meeting with Mr. Rugova. “Then, as afterwards, he struck me with the constancy of his political vision and the firmness of his dedication towards a single aim – the aim to which he dedicated his life – that of a free Kosovo,” Mr. Jessen-Petersen said.

That vision, he stressed, remains in the hands of Kosovo's political leaders “whose unity and commitment to the President's vision will be vital in the coming months.”

Preparations are being finalized for talks on the future status of Kosovo, which the UN has administered since NATO troops drove out Yugoslav forces in 1999.