“Albania opposes violence in Kosovo”

14 March 2010 Source: Danas, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta said that Albania opposes the use of force against Serbs in northern Kosovo. Ilir Meta (Tanjug archive) He said that the situation in Kosovo must be normalized, but exclusively through dialogue and cooperation with the Serb community for economic and social development. Meta told daily Danas that Albania opposes speculations of any border changes in the region, or any “territorial exchange” between northern Kosovo and the Preševo Valley region. He said that Kosovo is the only issue that Belgrade and Tirana do not agreed on. “With everything else we have reached total agreement. We decided to improve cooperation with Serbia in all fields, and we are very dedicated to doing so,” Meta said. “We have already proposed seven bilateral agreements and we hope that the officials of our two governments will sign them as soon as possible in Belgrade of Tirana, it doesn’t matter,” Meta said. He said that Albania is very interested in signing an agreement with Serbia for abolishing the visa regime between the two countries. Speaking about Tirana’s stance on Kosovo, Meta said that “Albania supports a European Kosovo, and such a Kosovo must be founded on improved inter-ethic relations and a better integration of the Serb community. The Albanian government has the goal of financing concrete projects in the new municipality of Gračanica, in which mostly Serbs live,” Meta said.