The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, received today the President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor.
Taking a retrospective at the relations with the Slovenian state, President Osmani praised them of being excellent relations and emphasized that they have been a continuation since the 90s, when Slovenia sided with the movement for the independence of Kosovo. The Slovenian support for Kosovo, according to President Osmani is continuing even further, as she mentioned that the Slovenian experience can help the country on the Euro-Atlantic path
“It is a pleasure to talk with our longtime friends about developments not only in Kosovo, but also in our region. As you know, the relations with Slovenia that are very friendly date back to the 90s, a part of the political activity of our movement and efforts for independence took place precisely in Slovenia, in very difficult times for our people. Slovenia has supported Kosovo’s efforts for independence as it has also supported Kosovo in the post-war phase, either by participating in KFOR through the Slovenian Military Forces, as well as with much political and diplomatic contribution and support”, said President Osmani.
President Osmani stressed that Kosovo expects Slovenia’s assistance by lobbying in non-recognizing countries, reiterating Kosovo’s intention to join the EU, NATO, as well as other international organizations.
“Of course, Kosovo has its clear path and it is the path of Euro-Atlantic integration. We have never looked elsewhere because for us there is no other alternative but the European Union and NATO, as two bodies where we should have a place and where the citizens of Kosovo have expressed their clear will to be. However, I must reemphasize that visa liberalization is delayed for the citizens of Kosovo and this damages the credibility of the European Union, so this liberalization should happen as soon as possible and there is no reason for hesitation and for this I want to thank President Pahor for his strong support and of course to ask for further support to convince those few countries which may have hesitations regarding this process”, the President emphasized.
At the meeting with counterpart Pahor, President Osmani also discussed about the dialogue process with Serbia and the recent developments in the region. According to her, Kosovo is a constructive party and that the result of this dialogue should be mutual recognition.
“Regarding the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, of course the Republic of Kosovo has always been a constructive party in this process, but our impression is that Serbia is not interested in reaching a legally binding agreement with the Republic of Kosovo and in this process, I repeat that for the Republic of Kosovo, as mentioned also by President Biden and many of our friends around the world, mutual recognition is what should be at the center of this proces”, added the President.
Whereas, in the regional context, President Osmani singled out the tendencies for destabilization from the spreading of the Russian influence in the region, as well as from the inciting rhetoric of Serbia. In this context, the President requested from the international community to condemn such tendencies, because according to her they are contrary to the values represented by the European Union.
“Unfortunately, our northern neighbor does not want a stable and peaceful Western Balkans, so it is using various rhetoric and actions that are destabilizing our region. For this, we hope that the European Union will be clear in relation to Serbia and will seek from it to stop the inciting rhetoric but also the destabilizing actions not only in relation to Kosovo but also in relation to other countries in the region such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and other countries of our region. Unfortunately, Serbia is also continuing to destabilize Kosovo through illegal structures in the north of our country. Also, the increase of the Russian influence poses a threat to further destabilization of the region, because this increase of Russian influence has never been well-intentioned, but is intended to fight the value-based systems that are NATO and the European Union. To fight these destabilizing tendencies of course we need the support of our friends, we need the support of Slovenia and President Pahor as a President who has been engaged in politics for 32 years knows our region very well, but also the fact that what will happen if there is not intervened in time to stop the autocratic and destabilizing tendencies in our region”, stressed President Osmani
A part of the meeting was also dedicated to the deepening of interstate cooperation, where the fields of foreign policy, defense, health, economic exchange, investments, etc. were singled out.