“Serbia does not hesitate to remind us of its true goals, to return the Balkans before the 90s, thanks to Russia’s help.”

This is what the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, declared at the conference “Democracy, human rights and peace building”, organized by the University of Pristina together with the University of Arkansas, USA, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the NATO intervention.

“Unfortunately, the dark forces are still very active today. With each passing day, Serbia is not ashamed to remind us of its truest intentions. Serbia, Russia’s representative in our region, is committed to returning our region to the 90s. Serbia and its allies want to undo everything we have achieved together over the years, and they think that an attack on Kosovo is not just an attack on a neighboring country, it is an attack against NATO, against the United States, against the Great Britain, against our common successes, against the values ​​that lie at the foundation of the Euro-Atlantic Community, and they are thinking that this is not only to win a battle, but to dismantle a system of values. We must remain steadfast in our determination to reject and say no to such intentions. We resisted then, while we refuse today”, said Osmani.

American Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier also participated in the conference.

Hovenier recalled that NATO’s intervention against Serbia, 25 years ago, came at the moment when all diplomatic means were exhausted, and that regardless of what has happened, Kosovo’s move towards the North Atlantic Alliance and the EU is implementation of the commitments that emerge from the dialogue.

“The only way for the integration of Kosovo in the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions is through the dialogue facilitated by the EU, there is no other way, and specifically good faith and full implementation of all the commitments that Kosovo has taken in the framework of the dialogue… We look to this government as we have asked all previous governments of Kosovo to work in partnership with us as we continue our efforts together to build a stable, prosperous, multi-ethnic and secure of Western Balkan. More than 25 years since Operation Allied Force and almost 25 years since the Liberation of Kosovo, the people of the United States have been, are, and will continue to be proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Kosovo,” said the American ambassador.

Part of the meeting through a video conference was also Wesley Clark, the supreme commander of NATO’s allies in Europe during the years 1999-2000.