The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, will not attend an informal meeting of Western Balkan leaders expected to take place in Tirana today.
The news was announced by Government spokesperson Përparim Kryeziu, who stated that the Prime Minister has other engagements in Greece.
“Prime Minister Kurti has informed Prime Minister [Edi] Rama that he will not be able to attend this time, as he confirmed his participation in a conference in Crete, Greece, where the panel on the Western Balkans is scheduled for the same day and time,” he wrote on Facebook.
The meeting in Tirana is hosted by Prime Minister Edi Rama as part of the preparations for the Berlin Process summit, which will be held in the Albanian capital on October 16.
“Of course, Prime Minister Kurti will participate in the Berlin Process summit to be held in Tirana, the date of which is known: October 16, 2023,” said Kryeziu.
Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania, the country currently leading the Berlin Process, announced the informal meeting during his tour in Western Balkan states a few days ago.
This meeting is said to aim for discussion and coordination in order to formulate common requests to be presented at the October summit, which is expected to be attended by leaders of European Union member states.
European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi is also expected to be present at this meeting.
A draft statute for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, proposed by the Prime Minister of Albania, as well as the cancellation of the joint meeting between the governments of Albania and Kosovo, which was scheduled for June 14, has strained relations between Rama and Kurti, who have preferred to argue with each other from a distance through statements.
Disagreements between the two leaders reached a peak on July 6 when Kurti refused to meet with Rama, who was on an official visit to Pristina. Rama was received by the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, and the Speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, Glauk Konjufca.
In this meeting, all the prime ministers of other countries in the region will be present: Prime Minister of Montenegro Dritan Abazović; Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovačevski; Chair of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Kristo; and Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić.
