The Open Balkan initiative is pointless if Kosovo is not engaged as an equal party in it, declared Croatia’s President Zoran Milanovic on Thursday in an official visit to Prishtina.
“If the initiative is benevolent, then all countries in the region should be involved. Kosovo is a state that has been recognized by a majority of EU member countries. On the other side, if it’s the opposite, the question would be what is the true scope of it”, said Milanovic.
The Croatian president said that the Serbian government is more interested in staying in power and that EU integration is not really among its priorities.
“Serbia must make up its mind on what it really wants. Regarding these moves with the Open Balkans, well we’re not in 1914 anymore. Fine, let the people move freely, but without Kosovo, the objectives seem quite clear and they are not so humane”, he said.
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani reiterated that the country’s only alternative is the Berlin Process, describing it as an “inclusive initiative where all states are equal”.
“When Serbia gives up on its destabilizing tendencies in confront to the region, at the moment when Serbia recognizes Kosovo as an irreversible reality, as a reality that is heading forward and cannot be turned back, then Vucic’s comments on his interest for regional cooperation can be taken seriously”, said President Osmani.
Kosovo’s President also underlined that Serbia’s military build-up shows the country’s real objectives, while her Croatian counterpart said that he does not see Kosovo as threatened by the move.
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