Macedonia and Kosovo settle border dispute

Macedonia and Kosovo have settled a long-running border dispute, paving the way for them to establish full diplomatic ties.

Parliamentarians in Kosovo voted on Saturday to approve the deal, struck late on Friday, with 81 of the 120 members backing the motion.

At 1750 GMT, their counterparts in Macedonia were still voting but are expected to ratify the agreement.

No further details were released on the border deal but Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said earlier on Saturday that he respected "the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and the peaceful settlement of disputes."

Media reports in Macedonia said Skopje and Pristina disagreed over the border demarcation that runs close to the Macedonian villages of Debalde and Tanusevci.

The border was agreed upon in 2001 between Belgrade and Skopje when Kosovo was still part of Serbia.

Kosovan premier Thaci also said this new deal would make it easier for Kosovans who own land in Macedonian territory to cross the border.

Skopje recognized Kosovo's independence in October 2008, six months after ethnic Albanian authorities declared it had split from Serbia.