Vice President Iliana Iotova is on an official visit to Kosovo on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the country's independence. She has met with President Vjosa Osmani.

"Bulgaria supports an independent Republic of Kosovo. From here on, in front of all international and European institutions, we will support Kosovo for their actual membership. We will lobby for membership in the Council of Europe and very soon Kosovo will submit its request for membership in the EU and NATO," Iotova said. The status of Kosovo citizens with Bulgarian self-awareness was also a focus of the talks.

"Our goal is for them to obtain the status of a community and to have membership in the National Council of Communities in Kosovo and then to open a Bulgarian weekend school," the vice-president pointed out.

On February 18, Iotova will meet with representatives of the Bulgarian community in Kosovo, which numbers about 15,000 people.