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The NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said in Madrid yesterday that Spain’s decision not to recognize Kosovo will not stop it from participating in KFOR – Kosovo Force, the NATO-led international force responsible for establishing a safe and secure environment in Kosovo.

The Chief of EULEX (European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo), Pieter Feith stated in Pristina yesterday that the mission would take full control of Kosovo on June 15, in line with the Ahtisaari Plan.

Outgoing Serbian PM Vojislav Kostunica and Slobodan Samardzic are persona non grata in Kosovo, said the Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu yesterday.

Joachim Ruecker, the UNMIK Chief yesterday reiterated that local Serbian elections in Kosovo are illegitimate and that no parallel administration can exist in the province. He said that UNMIK would react “in line with Kosovo laws” if anybody tried to form parallel authorities.

Vojislav Kostunica, the outgoing Prime Minister, will be in Zubin Potok, Kosovo, to address an election rally today.

Lithuania became the 39th country to recognize the unilateral independence of the Serbian province, Kosovo, when the Lithuanian parliament recognized Kosovo’s unilateral secession and advised the government to launch official procedures to establish diplomatic relations with Pristina.

The United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice yesterday stated in London that “Serbia and Kosovo are two separate countries”, and the U.S. expects good relations with both.

The Serb members of the Kosovo police, who defy the authorities of Pristina are paid by Serbia’s police or MUP or Serbian Ministry of the Interior, wrote an Albanian language newspaper in Pristina yesterday.

The local economists say that the food prices that have risen an alarming 50 percent since the start of this year in Kosovo, represents a heavy burden for citizens. They feel that the sudden price hikes could cause a social crisis in Kosovo.

The election material sent to Kosovo, which the UNMIK had previously confiscated, was released yesterday. The UNMIK customs said yesterday that the election material, which included UV lamps, ballot boxes, spray bottles and partitions for polling stations, had no customs value and was therefore returned.