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Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić of attempting to "spoil" the Brdo-Brioni summit held in Durrës, but added that in the end, Western Balkan leaders unanimously adopted a joint summit statement.
After the summit, Osmani told the Albanian public broadcaster that Vučić addressed the summit with "insults and arrogance."
" ...of course, for every propaganda that Vučić intended to present to the participants, we as the Republic of Kosovo had our own strong arguments, arguments on the side of law and arguments that have been strengthened and supported by international law, through the opinions of the ICJ ," said Osmani, referring to the decision of the International Court of Justice that ruled that Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008 did not violate international law.
Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo's independence and considers the state part of it.
During the summit, according to Osmani, Vučić also complained about the agreement in the field of defense that Kosovo, Albania and Croatia reached in March of this year.
" He [Vučić] received our joint reconfirmation that this marks a cooperation aimed at our defense and my response was that in the entire history of our existence as a nation we have never attacked anyone, we have never invaded anyone, but we have always protected and will continue to protect our territorial integrity. Our alliances are defensive alliances to protect us from the dangers that come to us from others. For Kosovo, the danger comes to us from Serbia so we will continue to strengthen our army ," Osmani said.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić told the media that during the meeting in Durrës, there was a clash with Osmani when territorial integrity was discussed, which, according to him, everyone interprets as they wish.
" Imagine when Vjosa Osmani comes and talks about territorial integrity and the protection of territorial integrity. Your stomach turns and everyone listens and shakes their heads... So, I reminded her of her tourism days at the United Nations, I wished her more tourism in her life and that was it ," Vučić said.
Leaders of the Western Balkan countries gathered on Monday in Durres, Albania, for the Brdo-Brioni regional summit, holding talks on the region's future in the European Union (EU).
Speaking at the opening of the plenary session of this gathering, the President of Albania as host of the event, Bajram Begaj, said that Tirana supports regional dialogue, with a focus on cooperation and the European integration process.
" For us, regional cooperation remains the main instrument of the region's integration into the EU. We must continue to exchange our experiences and knowledge to have even more tangible results from this Brdo-Brion process ," said Begaj.
The theme of this year's summit was "Common interests, shared commitment for a common future: Together towards the EU".
The meeting focused on the European future of the Western Balkan countries and on strengthening regional cooperation, especially the EU Growth Plan for the region.
While Kosovo remains the only country in the region that does not yet have EU candidate status, Albania has made great progress recently by opening most chapters of its accession negotiations, with other countries stalling at this point.
After the summit, Osmani said that the EU membership process is not based on merit, because, if that were the case, she said, Kosovo "would have moved forward a lot and we would now be very close to membership. But, unfortunately, political developments in some member states are blocking this."
Regarding the EU Growth Plan, a 6 billion euro package approved in 2023, all countries in the region have received the first funds, while Kosovo and Bosnia have not yet.
Kosovo is suffering from the lack of a new Assembly after the February elections, as it needs to ratify the necessary agreement first, while Bosnia has not yet submitted the required reform agenda to European authorities.
Kosovo was represented by President Vjosa Osmani at this summit, which was also attended by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, members of the Presidency of Bosnia, as well as the President of North Macedonia, Gordana Silianovska-Davkova.
The summit took place at a key moment for the Western Balkans, where in addition to the topic of European integration, issues related to strengthening regional cooperation and maintaining political stability in the region were also addressed.
This summit also brought Osman and Vučić face to face for the first time after a recent exchange of accusations against each other regarding security in the region.
Osmani said over the weekend that the Serbian president's "reckless calls" for war are dangerous echoes of the darkest chapters of recent history.
Osman's reaction came after Vučić said on Friday that "everyone is preparing for war" and that Kosovo is "trying to use this time before the war" to convince most European states and NATO countries to side with Pristina.
Vučić was also referring to the Kosovar president's previous comments when he spoke about the war, after last week at the European Political Community summit in Denmark, Osmani had called on Europe to prevent Serbia's "aggressive and destabilizing tactics" towards its neighbors.
The meeting is being organized by the President of Slovenia, Natasa Pirc Musar, and the President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, two of the initiators of the summit, under the leadership of Albanian President Begaj, as host of the meeting in Durrës.
This regional initiative, launched in 2013 by Slovenia and Croatia, aims to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between the countries of the region, as well as facilitate their efforts towards membership in the European Union. / REL
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