The President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani held a meeting with the heads of Kosovo institutions to discuss the developments following the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the implications for the security and stability of our country and the region.
The meeting was attended by: Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo Glauk Konjufca, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Sveçla and Defense Minister Armend Mehaj.
After the meeting, the heads of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo issue this joint statement following the military aggression and invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation:
The Republic of Kosovo strongly condemns the military aggression and invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation that openly reveals Russia's intention to undermine Ukraine's right to exist as a free, independent and democratic state. The Republic of Kosovo also condemns the illegal recognition of the “independence” of the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk by the Russian Federation.
The strategy pursued by Moscow to create through military aggression phantom entities within the territory of Ukraine, the massive accumulation of military forces on the borders of Ukraine and the large-scale and unprovoked attack on the Ukrainian cities and villages is one of the most dangerous blows dealt to the international security architecture built after World War II.
Dictator Putin's revisionist efforts to undermine the fundamental principles embodied in the UN Charter, namely the principle of sovereignty and equality of states, territorial integrity and the right of nations to independently decide upon their own destiny, erodes the foundations of international order.
Military aggression against Ukraine could not reverse the triumph of the values of freedom and democracy that marked the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, which more than anything else was a prison of nations and oppressor of human freedom.
Today in Ukraine, not only are the sovereignty and the right to self-determination of a free nation and of an independent state being protected. In Ukraine today, the universal values of peace, democracy and the right of nations to self-determination are also being protected.
No one knows better than the people of Kosovo the strength of the values of freedom, human dignity and the right to self-determination.
It was these values and principles that motivated the democratic world to intervene in 1999 to save the people of Kosovo from the danger of extermination by the genocidal regime of Slobodan Milosevic's Serbia.
Dictator Putin's tendency to refer to the Kosovo case and draw parallels is completely insubstantial, abusive and an attempt to camouflage the lack of any basis and justification for the barbaric attack of his forces against a sovereign state.
The process of independence of the Republic of Kosovo has been the result of the bloody dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation, the violent abolition of the federal status of Kosovo, the implementation of apartheid policy against the Albanian people for a decade, the liberation war against Milosevic's genocidal regime, international intervention to stop the genocide, the international administration of Kosovo and the internationally mediated negotiation process for determination of Kosovo's final status. Moreover, the legality of Kosovo's independence has been confirmed by the International Court of Justice, as the highest body of international justice.
The Russian Federation has not only never opposed Serbia's invasion wars and genocidal campaigns in the former Yugoslavia, but has continued to play a negative role by unreservedly supporting destabilizing tendencies and anti-European policies in the Western Balkans, as well as exploiting states and leaders under its control to hinder our region's Euro-Atlantic integration.
The Republic of Kosovo has consistently faced the efforts of the Russian Federation to undermine its sovereignty and progress, either by blocking membership in international organizations, by arming Serbia, and by building camouflaged military bases in Serbia, near the border with Kosovo, or by orchestrated special and hybrid warfare through propaganda and other forms that Moscow has consistently undertaken against the Republic of Kosovo.
The Republic of Kosovo expresses its unreserved solidarity and support to Ukraine and its people. We support Ukraine's inalienable right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
We express our hope and belief that only the determined response of the international community against the military aggression and invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation is crucial to the ending of this aggression.
The Republic of Kosovo fully supports the reactions of democratic states and international organizations and joins them in taking actions and measures punishing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including the imposition of sanctions, measures and other acts.
The Republic of Kosovo will closely coordinate its actions with the freedom-loving states of the region and strategic Euro-Atlantic allies, especially the US and the EU, to strongly oppose the Russian occupation war in Ukraine and to face the effects which can be produced by Moscow's aggression within our region through the friendly states of Russia and non-state actors. Russia's destabilizing tendencies towards the Western Balkans region are already clear and we will oppose them together with our allies.