Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said the European Union should lift measures against Kosovo as soon as possible. However, he expressed skepticism that Kosovo will be granted EU candidate country status by the end of this year, reports KosovaPress.

Edgars Rinkevics spoke at a press conference with the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, after a meeting during his official visit to Pristina.

Osmani said that it is high time to lift the European Union's unjust measures against Kosovo.

"It is time to remove the unjust measures that the European Union still has in force against Kosovo, and also to find a method and way as soon as possible for the status of a candidate country for our Republic.", Osmani declared, reports KosovaPress.

This was also requested by Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, who said that the European Union should lift the measures against Kosovo as soon as possible.

"My country's position is that the European Union should lift the restrictive measures. Latvia's position is very clear. We think that the punitive measures should be lifted and that is why we are advocating in the European Union and we will continue to do so. My conviction is that the sooner this happens, the better. If we lift the restrictive measures then we will see how we go with other measures, but I cannot promise that candidate country status can be granted by the end of the year.", He stressed.

During the conference, Osmani also responded to the draft statute of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities proposed by the European Union, which he said would in no way pass the Constitutional Court's test.

Osmani, after meeting with the President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, said that he had also addressed this position to the EU envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Peter Sorensen, during his visit to Kosovo, according to the statement. KosovaPress.

The country's first lady expressed optimism that the new EU leadership will be more balanced in the dialogue process, as she said that the dialogue has not been treated in accordance with the principle of equality by the previous mediators.

The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, also spoke about the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, saying that good preconditions must be established for the continuation of the dialogue in order to yield tangible results.

In addition, President Osmani asked the European Union to have a response to Serbia's destabilizing actions in the region.

In this regard, Osmani and her Latvian counterpart emphasized the need for cooperation in the field of defense./KosovaPress

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/Kosovapress/