During her stay in Washington for the NATO Summit, President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani had the opportunity to discuss important issues with our allies.
In an interview with Info Magazine of Klan Kosova, Osmani stated that she does not discuss only the dialogue with Serbia with Kosovo’s key partners, as this is not in the country’s best interest; Kosovo must also take other significant steps.
“A special thanks goes to the White House and the State Department, who made it possible for Kosovo to be part of this NATO Summit, sending a message that our path towards NATO is inevitable. NATO is our destiny, and we truly belong there; we deserve it right now, but as you know, there are obstacles from the five non-recognizing states. My goal as the President of the Republic of Kosovo during these three years has been to not reduce our bilateral relationship with our key allies only to the issue of dialogue with Serbia; this is not in our interest. If we talk with our allies only about the dialogue with Serbia, we cannot take other important steps,” Osmani said.
Additionally, President Osmani expressed that Kosovo must send the message that regardless of what Serbia does, we remain an independent and sovereign state, and we will always remain so.
“We must send the message that regardless of what Serbia does, Kosovo is an independent, sovereign state, and it will always remain so. If Serbia continues with opposition and aggressive acts, we need to build relationships with friendly states in such a way that Kosovo receives concessions, we have clear security guarantees, strong support for membership in all international organizations where Russia does not have a veto, and the recognition campaign is reactivated,” said the country’s leader.
Furthermore, Osmani mentioned that it was a specific request from U.S. President Joe Biden that NATO member states increase their commitment to the NATO mission in Kosovo.
“It was a personal request from Biden that NATO member states increase their commitment to the NATO mission in Kosovo, to protect peace, security, and democracy. I assure you that the United States of America has continuously confirmed its commitment to protect the Republic of Kosovo within its current borders,” Osmani emphasized.
Osmani stated that her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron had a positive and supportive approach to Kosovo during their conversation in Washington. However, she noted that there is still a need for further discussions to find the best way forward.
“We had a very substantial conversation with President Macron, who was interested not only in developments in the international context but in all the reforms being carried out in Kosovo, from the rule of law to economic reforms, the justice system, and many other topics, which I had the opportunity to detail to him. We also discussed international organizations, particularly the Council of Europe. We will continue the discussion with President Macron in about five days when I travel to the United Kingdom. President Macron had a positive and supportive approach to Kosovo, but there is still a need to continue discussions to find the best way forward,” Osmani said.
