Albania’s PM Edi Rama and Serbian president Alexandar Vucic excluded any possibility that the Open Balkan initiative was a Russian idea.
During the Open Balkan Summit in Ohrid, where 5 Western Balkan leaders participated earlier today, PM Rama said that Lavrov’s statements were simply ‘a form of sarcasm’.
According to Rama, the Open Balkan initiative is endorsed by the United States and the EU and their presence during today’s meeting of their special representatives only goes to prove this.
“Lavrov is a high-level shark in the world of global diplomacy and he is well-known for his sarcasm,” – declared Rama.
Albania’s Prime Minister called for historical disagreements to be set aside while suggesting that the Balkans follow the example of US-Japan and how they overcame their differences.
“Let us build a new history like all those nations who have known how to leave behind stories of the past. Japan and the US are close allies today, after 2 atomic bombs,” – said Rama.
In addition, the Serbian president also maintained that Russia didn’t have any influence in the creation of the Open Balkan initiative.
Vucic declared that everything was prompted by Rama’s, Zaev’s and his own initiative.
“No one else apart from us had anything to do with Open Balkan,” – declared Vucic.
The reason behind this interpretation of Open Balkan was statements made by Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov recently.
According to him, the creation of the Open Balkan initiative was a Serbian idea that is being executed with Russia’s full support.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
- Rama vows for a ‘common solution’ to the crisis
- Vucic proposes holding next Open Balkan summit in Serbia
- LIVE Open Balkan Day 2: What are the agreements expected?
