During her official visit to Bulgaria, the President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, in the presence of the Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, the Acting Minister of Defense Dimitar Stoyanov and Major General Valeri Tsolov, awarded the Armed Forces of this country the Presidential Military Medal for their contribution within the KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
President Osmani emphasized that currently within KFOR Bulgarian soldiers are still serving in Kosovo and as of 1999, there are 1,600 Bulgarian soldiers who have contributed to maintaining the peace and stability in Kosovo.
Regarding the consequences of the war in Kosovo and NATO's intervention, President Osmani emphasized that Bulgaria was on the side of Kosovo since that very time.
“Bulgaria was not yet a member of NATO in 1999, yet it took the hard but right decisions to ensure that the NATO-led intervention in Kosovo was successful in stopping monstrous crimes by Milosevic's genocidal forces,” pointed out President Osmani.
At the “St. Cyril and Methodius” University, President Osmani was awarded an appreciation followed by Madam President's address on peace and prosperity through Euro-Atlantic integration in Southeast Europe in front of diplomats, academic staff and students.
To the Chair of General Linguistics and Indo-European and Balkan languages, Madam President presented a certificate of appreciation for the further study and nurturing of the Albanian language within the Department of Balkan Studies.
During her visit to Bulgaria, the President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani was also presented with the Key of Sofia by the prefect of the Bulgarian capital Yordanka Fandakova, as a sign of respect.
“The keys open doors. This official visit to Bulgaria has opened up many opportunities for bilateral cooperation between the two states and capitals, and offers our citizens more in the function of mutual benefit,” emphasized President Osmani.