President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, stated that Serbia has turned into a proxy state of Russia, which aims to create a destabilizing effect in the region. However, Osmani said that Kosovo will work closely with NATO and the European Union to ensure that these destabilizing tactics do not succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Osmani made these remarks during her visit to Latvia \u2014 the first ever by a President of Kosovo \u2014 where she later honored her Latvian counterpart, Edgars Rink\u0113vi\u010ds, with a presidential military medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She emphasized that Latvia\u2019s voice has been crucial in supporting Kosovo\u2019s membership in international organizations. Meanwhile, the President of Latvia noted that \u201cthe day when Kosovo becomes a candidate country for EU membership is near, although more work and commitment are still required.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI propose the creation of a Kosovo\u2013Latvia Economic Forum to deepen our economic ties and bring our investment and innovation agencies closer together. Business-to-business connections are always an important step forward in bringing countries and people together. I emphasized Kosovo\u2019s readiness to finalize key bilateral agreements between our two countries, and I hope that the relevant ministries will continue the talks starting today. Latvia\u2019s voice has been decisive in supporting Kosovo\u2019s membership in international organizations \u2013 in the Council of Europe, as I mentioned, in Interpol, UNESCO, and in international financial institutions,\u201d<\/em> Osmani said during a joint press conference in Latvia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her meeting with the Latvian president, she also said that they discussed \u201cRussia\u2019s dangerous imperialist ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Osmani stated that Kosovo stands on the front line of defending Euro-Atlantic values in the Western Balkans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe believe in the transformative power of the European Union and remain committed to reforms and meeting the necessary criteria, but this path must be guided by justice, equal treatment, and credibility on the part of the EU. So, dear President Rink\u0113vi\u010ds, as we speak, 140 Latvian soldiers are still serving within NATO\u2019s mission in Kosovo, contributing to the peace, stability, and security of our citizens. They join the thousands of Latvian troops who have served in Kosovo over the past two decades. This is a testimony to Latvia\u2019s commitment to our shared values, and I sincerely hope this support will continue even after December of this year,\u201d<\/em> Osmani added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked in Latvia about Russia\u2019s influence on \u201ctensions between Kosovo and Serbia,\u201d Osmani replied that Serbia has become a satellite state of Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSerbia continuously tries to destabilize our country, including through acts of aggression, while we continue to defend ourselves. In the history of our state, we have never invaded or attacked even one centimeter of our neighbors\u2019 territories. What we have always done \u2013 and will continue to do \u2013 is defend our independence, our territorial integrity, the peace and the freedom we achieved through great sacrifice… In my country, Russia\u2019s influence is zero. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for our neighboring country, because Serbia has become a proxy state of Russia \u2013 politically, economically, and militarily. Through Serbia, Russia seeks to create a chain reaction of destabilization in the region, because the more destabilization there is in Europe, the more it serves Russia\u2019s interests. That\u2019s what they want \u2014 but we will work closely with our allies in the EU and NATO, through deterrence and resilience, to ensure that none of Russia\u2019s destabilizing tactics carried out through Serbia will succeed,\u201d <\/em>Osmani said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, Latvian President Edgars Rink\u0113vi\u010ds called Osmani\u2019s visit historic and added that during their meeting, he reaffirmed Latvia\u2019s support for Kosovo on its path toward the European Union and deeper European integration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI visited Kosovo myself this year, actually in March, during the spring, when I also visited our soldiers deployed under KFOR. Currently, we have around 140 soldiers deployed in Kosovo. At that time, together with Madam President, we discussed bilateral relations, regional security, and I believe we are like-minded countries \u2014 we are on the same wavelength, on the same page regarding many different issues. I also confirmed that Kosovo\u2019s foreign and security policy is fully aligned with that of the European Union. We also discussed issues important for strengthening security in the Western Balkans, and the situation in Ukraine, the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which requires clear positions from the entire international community,\u201d <\/em>he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his meeting with President Osmani, he added that they also discussed economic cooperation, emphasizing that there has been growth in trade exchange between the two countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI expressed my support for the EU\u2019s High Representative, Kaja Kallas, and Mr. Sorensen \u2013 who is the EU\u2019s mediator in the Pristina dialogue, which is very important. It is also essential that this dialogue is supported by both parties, not just one. From this perspective, it was very interesting for me to hear from my colleague, Madam President, her thoughts on the progress of this dialogue and how regional issues are being addressed… I think we will reach a point where we will mark significant progress in Kosovo\u2019s European integration. We know what our friends in Kosovo want, but we also know there is still a lot to be done \u2013 both in terms of internal reforms and in foreign policy \u2013 to secure the support of all EU member states. But the day when Kosovo becomes a candidate country is near, even though much work remains,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later today, President Vjosa Osmani is also expected to visit the \u201cStratcom\u201d Center of Excellence, which plays an important role in promoting information integrity and resilience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, stated that Serbia has turned into a proxy state of Russia, which aims to create a destabilizing effect in the region. However, Osmani said that Kosovo will work closely with NATO and the European Union to ensure that these destabilizing tactics do not succeed. Osmani made these remarks during her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":75420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[301,296],"tags":[6435,703,580,486],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75421,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75419\/revisions\/75421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kosovapress.com\/eng\/admin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}