 |
| Ilir Meta and Ana Brnabić |
President Meta complained that Kosovo did not attend this Summit, urging Bosnia and Herzegovina to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. The head of the Albanian state said that it is the right time for Bosnia and Herzegovina and every other country to move forward in the direction of accepting the reality.
"A number of bilateral and regional challenges remain on the road to continued regional integration and that of the European Union. In this regard, I would like to express my regret for the fact that the Republic of Kosovo, our future leadership of this Summit, was forced not to participate in this Summit. How can we claim to have effective cooperation where some of the participants in this forum do their utmost to exclude a nation and a neighboring state from benefiting from international cooperation and regional projects in such important areas as security, education, culture, etc. Good neighborly relations and mutual respect are essential to having effective regional cooperation, security, and economic prosperity for all of us. So now is the time that not only Bosnia and Herzegovina, which should have done all the efforts to guarantee Kosovo's participation in this Summit, but also any other country to make progress towards the recognition and acceptance of this reality. The Republic of Kosovo is an independent and sovereign state and should be treated with respect, first of all by its own neighbors," said Meta
Immediate was the reaction of Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brennabic, who said that the country where this Summit is being held does not recognize the state of Kosovo, and has described Meta's statements as a provocation.
"At this table, there are some countries that do not recognize Kosovo, and I suggest that there is no clash on this issue among other states. I am sorry that the representatives of the provisional institutions of Pristina are not here. This shows what kind of cooperation Prishtina wants.
I suggest that we act in accordance with the framework established under the South East European Co-operation Process in order to ensure regional stability and cooperation, showing respect for each other without using such provocations that Meta tried to use," said Brnabic.
She also said that the region cannot be sustainable until Serbia is not a member of the EU. We remind that at this Summit Albania had initially warned that it will not attend because of Kosovo, but the President Ilir Meta participated yesterday at this Summit.