BELGRADE (AFP) – Serbia’s opposition to Kosovo’s independence is “irrational” since it cannot be reversed, Montenegro’s Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said in an interview published yesterday.

Montenegro, Serbia’s former partner in a loose federation, has long considered the independence of Kosovo as “certain,” he said.

“We have no intentions to persuade Serbia that our stance is correct, but we are not hypocrites to hide [our opinion] that Serbia’s position is politically irrational,” Djukanovic told Belgrade daily Politika.

Ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008.

Belgrade is challenging the legality of Kosovo’s independence before the International Court of Justice, which will begin public hearings on the issue in December.

Kosovo’s independence “has become officially irreversible,” Djukanovic said.

The United States and most of the European Union are among 63 countries that have recognized Kosovo.

Djukanovic called on Belgrade not to “allow that our longstanding relations remain under the shadow of Kosovo.”