The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Donika Gërvalla, said that they agreed with the Greek Minister to advance in the future the status of the Kosovo office in Athens, from a simple economic office to an office of interest in not only economic issues, but also in other areas as political ones. She said that the recognition of Kosovo’s independence by all European Union countries would be an essential contribution to the stability of the region.
“Kosovo’s independence is an inalienable fact and the sooner such a fact is accepted, the sooner a stable perspective is provided for the region, Kosovo and Serbia. “, Given that Greece still sees Kosovo’s independence from a different perspective, we affirm that with Greece and other partners of the European Union and abroad, to continue the dialogue on this issue,” said Minister Gërvalla.
Minister Dendias, who met with Kosovo’s top leaders in Pristina, said Greece supports the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union, while calling for caution against interference by other powers in the region.
“We must not allow other powers to undermine the fragile stability of our region by trying to create spheres of influence or by trying to interfere by referring to cultural, historical or religious ties. “We believe that the Western Balkans belong to Europe and should be an integral part of the EU,” he said, calling for an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.
“We fully support the continuation of talks between Belgrade and Pristina. I take this opportunity today, once again, to call on all parties to continue their efforts in order to reach a legally binding and enforceable solution. “Such a solution will work wonders to stabilize the whole region, as well as to bring the region closer to the European Union family,” he said.
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic are expected to meet for the first time from the middle of this month in Brussels as part of talks facilitated by the European Union.
As part of the preparations for this meeting, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer and the European Union Special Envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia Talks, Miroslav Lajcak, stayed in Pristina and Belgrade in an effort to speed up the process but also to convey the message of transatlantic coordination towards the talks between the two countries and the Western Balkans region.
Warnings of the resumption of talks were followed by debates over some informal documents on resolving outstanding issues in the Western Balkans, including ideas for border changes, which have been opposed by both the European Union and the United States.