March 29. 2024. 3:21

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Albanian PM mediates with Vucic in Moldova


Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama held talks with Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the European Community Summit in Moldova, in which he demanded an end to the current situation and progression with dialogue.

The meeting comes as tensions between Kosovo and Serbia reached heights unseen since the 1998-1999 war. During the last week, with some 40 NATO soldiers, plus Kosovo police and journalists, were injured during protests in the Serb-majority north.

“The region must enter into a new relationship with the EU, while the conflict in the North of Kosovo must be resolved side by side with the democratic world, putting an end to the threatening absurdity and finalising the normalisation and mutual recognition agreement between Kosovo of Serbia,” Rama wrote on Facebook after the meeting.

He also praised Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani meeting her Serbian counterpart Aleksander Vucic, albeit briefly.

Rama tweeted he hopes that the requirements set by the European Union will be met by both sides so that the situation will be de-escalated and Pristina and Belgrade will move towards the final agreement on mutual recognition.

“I cannot thank President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz enough for what they are doing to finalize the Kosovo-Serbia normalization process! To see them sit down so respectfully with both sides to try to resolve an absurd conflict says everything about their great European spirit. Thank you!” he wrote.

Vucic Tweeted that every effort should be made to preserve the peace.

“We in the region know best how important it is to make every effort together to preserve the hard-won peace and stability. We talked about current events and next steps that would contribute to finding a solution to the current, difficult and difficult situation, with the hope that reason will prevail, for the good of all,” he wrote.

While describing the meeting with EU member states as “difficult”, he reiterated Serbia’s intent to preserve peace and resolve all issues through dialogue.

“I reiterated the positions of our country with regard to the most important global geopolitical events and emphasised that Serbia remains a consistent and reliable partner in preserving regional peace and stability, driven primarily by national and state interests,” Vucic said.

Meanwhile, Albanian Foreign Minister Olta Xhackca was present at the informal NATO Foreign Minister summit in Oslo. She thanked NATO for its contribution to regional security, particularly in the context of the recent tensions.

“Dialogue is the only way forward,” she added.

On Wednesday, Rama spoke at the GLOBESEC 2030 conference where he compared Serbia’s military might to Mexico showing up at the US border.

“This is the most incredible display of internal politics because the Serbian army on the border of Kosovo has a power equal to zero. It’s like the Mexican military showing up at the US border. What can he do? Nothing! It is only about domestic politics. There is a lot about internal politics and what happens on the border with Kosovo,” he said.

In Moldova, Rama also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the latter Tweeting about their encounter.

“In Moldova, on the sidelines of the second summit of the European Political Community, I met with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama and the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski. I thanked the leaders for the continuous comprehensive support of Ukraine and practical help in the fight against Russian aggression, especially for the acceptance of the Balkan countries in all EU sanctions packages against Russia,” Zelensky wrote.

(Alice Taylor | Exit.al, Bojana Zimonjic | EURACTIV.rs)

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