The 145th anniversary of the Albanian League of Prizren is marked

2023-06-10 18:20:13, Kosova & Bota CNA

Senior leaders of Kosovo and Albania said today that strengthening the position and cooperation of Albanians in the region and integration into the Euro-Atlantic family is a mission that must be worked on with the support of Western allies.

They made these comments during the celebration of the 145th anniversary of the Albanian League of Prizren, which is considered one of the main events in Albanian history.

The League was founded on June 10, 1878, to oppose the decisions of the Congress of Berlin and the Treaty of Saint Stephen, as a result of which the Albanian territories were taken from the Ottoman Empire to be given to the states of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece.

The President of Albania, Bajram Begaj, said today that the future of the Albanian nation will be more prosperous if the divisions and divisions between each other are fought.

"The development and empowerment of the Albanian people in all its territories and integration into the big Euro-Atlantic family is a mission for which we must all work together. And to fulfill this obligation, we are lucky that our forefathers, in addition to language and culture, also inherited old friendships and reliable strategic partners on whom we can and should always rely," said President Begaj .

The leaders of Kosovo emphasized cooperation with international allies in fulfilling the goals of the Albanian people.

"So the freedom of Kosovo came through the liberation war of the state of Kosovo, of the people of Kosovo, but also with the unconditional support of the allied countries which we still have by our side today, and for which we will always be grateful", said the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani.

"Only bound together and faithfully around the League as a mindset and political awareness can we advance on our way to the political strengthening of our states together with our European and American allies and strategic partners", said the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti .

Kosovo is facing one of the deepest crises in its relations with international allies due to the situation in the north of Kosovo.

The United States has severely criticized the Kosovo government for lack of coordination regarding actions in the north and warned of consequences. The exclusion of Kosovo from the "Defender Europe 2023" exercises was the first punitive step.

European officials have not ruled out the possibility that the European Union will impose any punitive measures on Kosovo in case of non-fulfillment of the demands for the reduction of tensions in the north.

Western diplomats say that Kosovo and Serbia should pave the way for the implementation of the agreement reached in Ohrid for the normalization of relations, which also means the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.

On Thursday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that he has submitted a draft association statute to French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He said that it is a confidential document, which takes into consideration that the association is part of the organization of life in the Republic of Kosovo.

Prime Minister Rama's initiative for the Association was met with divided attitudes in Pristina, while the Speaker of the Kosovo Parliament, Glauk Konjufca, called it a unilateral action.

"In principle, I think that it is a mistake regardless of the content, it means a defect in principle because the Albanian prime minister should not have done such actions without sitting down with the prime minister of Kosovo and clarifying all these problems", said Mr. Konjufca .

Prime Minister Kurti, who on Wednesday is expected to lead the joint meeting of the two governments together with Prime Minister Rama, did not want to comment on the initiative.

A spokesman for the European Union said on Friday that "any constructive assistance in the talks facilitated by the EU, in the framework of which the Association is also being discussed, is welcome", but the issue can only be dealt with in the framework of these talks. ./ REL