In an interview ahead of his visit to Kosovo to participate in celebrations of the first anniversary of the constitution, former United Nations special envoy Martti Ahtisaari said that "things were moving well" in the state, for which his recommendations opened the way to independence.
 
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008 and adopted a constitution in June.
 
Revered in Kosovo and reviled by those who see Kosovo’s independence as illegimate, Nobel Peace Prize winner Ahtisaari said an interview with a Pristina radio station that Kosovo’s membership of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were evidence that things were going well.
 
Former mediator Wolgang Ischinger, in Pristina this past weekend for meetings with Kosovo leaders ahead of the constitution anniversary celebration said that progress had been achieved by much remained to be done.
 
"I am happy that Kosovo’s independence has not caused violence, conflicts and problems as some diplomats had predicted," Ischinger was quoted by daily newspaper Zeri as saying.
 
Serbian news site B92 quoted president Fatmir Sejdiu and prime minister Hashim Thaci as thanking Ischinger for his support and reiterating that the "Kosovo institutions are engaged in implementing the Ahtisaari plan".

Sejdiu said that Kosovo has so far, "as an independent state", shown its dedication to "Euro-Atlantic integrations and good neighborly relations", while Thaci spoke about "Kosovo's institutions realising the 'Kosovo with a European agenda' project".