China says still room for talks on Kosovo's future

BEIJING (Reuters) - There is still room for talks on Kosovo's international status, China said on Friday, after the International Court of Justice said the Balkan state's unilateral secession from Serbia in 2008 did not violate international law.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the government had "noted" the World Court's non-binding ruling.

"China consistently believes that respecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity is a fundamental principle of international law, and is the basis of the current global legal system," Qin said in a statement on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

China respects Serbia's territorial integrity and thinks that talks under a U.N. framework are the best way to find a mutually acceptable solution, he added.

"China believes that the advisory opinion of the World Court does not stand in the way of the involved parties finding an appropriate resolution through talks," Qin said.

Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008 set a worrying precedent for China's own territorial integrity.

China regards the self-governing island of Taiwan as part of its territory and faces separatist sentiments in its far-western regions of Xinjiang and Tibet.

Beijing has not recognized Kosovo's independence, with China's ambassador to the United Nations saying at the time its actions were "a serious challenge to the fundamental principles of international law."

The non-binding, but clear-cut ruling by the International Court of Justice is a major blow to Serbia and will complicate efforts to draw the former pariah ex-Yugoslav republic into the European Union.

It is likely to lead to more states following the United States, Britain and 67 other countries in recognizing ethnic-Albanian dominated Kosovo, which broke away after NATO intervened to end a brutal crackdown on separatism by Belgrade.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sugita Katyal)