Stevo Pendarovski has reservations for “Open Balkans”, Vjosa Osmani speaks against

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani said that Kosovo opposes the “Open Balkans” initiative, while the President of Northern Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovsi, openly expressed reservations about this initiative, although his country is part of the initial initiative together with Serbia and Albania. Stevo Pendarovsi, President of Northern Macedonia, during an official visit to Kosovo, said that the “Open Balkans” initiative can not succeed unless it includes all the countries of the Western Balkans and this initiative he said. has seen more suspicion since it was launched in 2019.

“Let me remind you that when it started as an initiative in 2019, I was the first politician to express reservations. This initiative lacks something, instead of being six states, there are only three. Until this initiative involves all states it will not succeed. My position is that it can only be one of the tools for trade and economic improvement, but not political. It may just be part of the Berlin Process, but not replace it. “The Berlin process is an initiative that has institutions, it has resources that the ‘Open Balkans’ does not have”, said Pendarovski in a joint conference with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.

The President of Kosovo, meanwhile, said that the “Open Balkans” initiative was not built as an initiative on the basic principles of neighborly cooperation, therefore, according to her, “this initiative does not accept equal treatment of the six countries of the Western Balkans.”

“As long as Serbia does not treat Kosovo equally in regional initiatives, then we see that Serbia wants to expand its hegemonic interests. “Kosovo has great reservations regarding the political aspects of this initiative, but also regarding the security and economy, because the aim is to use a kind of anteroom to delay the European integration process”, declared President Osmani.

Serbian media write that the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vuçi. Will stay in Tirana on December 20 and 21, where he will participate in the meeting of the regional initiative “Open Balkans”. The meeting in Tirana will be hosted by the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and is expected to be attended by the Prime Minister of Northern Macedonia, Zoran Zaev. The last meeting in the framework of the “Open Balkans” initiative was held in early November in Belgrade.

Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, meanwhile, did not stop only with what she said, the unequal regional sampling that Serbia did to Kosovo, but also spoke about Russia’s influence in the Balkans through Serbia.

Osmani: Russia influences through Serbia

“Kosovo and the region face great risks due to Russia’s destabilizing tendencies through Serbia. Kosovo is committed not only to rejecting malicious influences, but also to cooperating with our partners to prevent such destabilizing influences. The region needs to take concrete steps towards European integration, but also long-term peace and stability. “But all this is damaged if Russia’s influence increases through its springboard, Serbia,” said Vjosa Osmani.

During his visit to Kosovo, the President of Northern Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, also spoke about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, stating that “dialogue remains the only solution towards stability in the region.”

“We know that the process is difficult and complicated, but the countries of the region with good intentions support the resolution of the dispute. “Northern Macedonia will support the final agreement between the two countries because, in our opinion, it will contribute to stability in the region,” said Stevo Pendarovsi, whose country recognized Kosovo’s independence in 2008.

The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, which aims to normalize relations, started in 2011 and since then a number of agreements have been reached, but most of them have not yet begun to be implemented. This dialogue has stalled recently and it is precisely the issue of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and the disagreements between Kosovo and Serbia over it that is hampering an EU-requested meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Belgrade insists that the Association issue be the main topic of dialogue, while Pristina seeks to shed light on the fate of those missing during the war and other more pressing issues. Since Albin Kurti became Kosovo’s prime minister, he has met only twice with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in the dialogue with Serbia. The latter said that “Serbia wants to continue the dialogue with Kosovo, but Pristina is the one that does not want the dialogue to continue.”

European diplomacy chief Josep Borrel himself last week announced a possible Kurti-Vucic meeting by the end of this year, but the chances are slim, precisely because of the Pristina-Belgrade disagreements over the Association issue./ DW

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