Albania's self-proclaimed King Zog to visit Kosovo

Associated Press, Jun 28, 2005 6:34 AM

PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro-Albania's self-proclaimed King Leka Zog I is expected to meet with Kosovo's prime minister Tuesday, a statement said.

Zog's visit to Kosovo comes days ahead of Sunday's general elections in Albania where he is to take part. He will hold talks with Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi and other officials, a government statement said.

Zog has been a vocal backer of the demand from Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for independence from Serbia-Montenegro, a union that replaced Yugoslavia.

The disputed province has been administered by the United Nations since 1999, following a NATO war aimed at stopping Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.

Zog, 66, is the son of King Ahmet Zog, a Muslim chieftain who declared himself king in 1928 and ruled until the Italian army invaded the country in 1939.