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The US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Liz Allen, said on Sunday in Pristina that progress towards the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities is essential for Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic integration.
"We can best support Kosovo's path towards European and Euro-Atlantic institutions when we enjoy close cooperation and coordination, and I know this is important to you. We discussed the essential step in Kosovo's Euro-Atlantic journey moving forward with the Association of Serbian-Majority Municipalities," said Mrs. Allen.
An agreement reached last year between Kosovo and Serbia for the normalization of relations, foresaw, among other things, that Prishtina would begin work on the establishment of the Association, while Serbia would not oppose Kosovo's membership in international organizations.
Kosovo did not take the required steps, while Serbia launched a campaign to prevent its membership in the Council of Europe.
Kosovo was not put on the agenda for membership in the Council of Europe, as some of the member states reiterated that a condition for Kosovo's progress is to take steps to establish the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority.
Western diplomats have often expressed concern over the possibility that unresolved issues could create room for malicious action in the region.
Undersecretary Allen said that the protection of the region from disinformation remained the priority of her work, while together with the president Vjosa Osmani, she signed an agreement of understanding between the United States and Kosovo against the misuse of information by foreign countries.
"We know that authoritarian governments manipulate information and spread misinformation to influence people around the world to sow chaos and division and undermine trust in institutions, especially democratic institutions. Security and stability in southern and south-central Europe, especially in the Western Balkans, are the main priorities that I have highlighted in every stop of my trip to the region," she said.
The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani said that the signed agreement is evidence of the strengthening of relations between the two countries.
"Disinformation and cyber attacks have already become an inseparable part of the hybrid war of malicious forces for the realization of the geopolitical agendas of the autocrats, who through them aim to bring instability, mistrust and polarization. Unfortunately, not even Kosovo has been spared from these attacks, which come and intensify as a result of Russia's influence in the region through its satellite Serbia. This is not only disturbing, but it represents an active risk of destabilization of our region", said President Osmani.
The agreement aims to facilitate information between the two countries, develop strategies to counter threats of information manipulation and develop technical tools and human capacities for such a thing./VOA
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