"Serbian-Albanian relations key for stability"

12 March 2010 | 09:29 | Source: FoNet, Beta

BELGRADE -- President Boris Tadić met in Belgrade on Thursday with Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta Beta news agency reports. Tadić, Meta meet in Belgrade (Beta) During the meeting, Tadić stressed the importance of the agreement on cooperation in the fight against organized crime, international illegal drug trafficking and international terrorism, which was to be signed by Serbia and Albania, the office of the Serbian president stated. Despite the different opinions regarding the issue of Kosovo, the talks focused on the improvement of bilateral cooperation which, it was said in the statement of the presidency, is at a low level, especially in the field of economy. Jeremić: Differences have not been overcome Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić said that relations between Serbia and Albanian are burdened by political disagreements regarding Kosovo’s status. He said after meeting with his Albanian counterpart Ilir Meta in Belgrade that the differences in the opinions of Belgrade and Tirana regarding Kosovo have not decreased. Jeremić said, however, that there is readiness on both sides to isolate the differences so that they would not interfere with cooperation in other sectors. Jeremić said that a united stance on the future of the Western Balkans was agreed on between him and Meta. “The future of the entire Western Balkans is in the European Union. Peace and stability depends a great deal on relations between Serbs and Albanians,” Jeremić said. He said that relations with Albania could be better, adding that both countries are interested in improving relations between Serbs and Albanians. Jeremić said that Meta’s visit was historic, because it was the first visit by an Albanian foreign minister to Serbia. He said that there is great potential for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of culture, science and education, adding that everything will be done in the coming period in order to improve relations. Meta confirmed that the stances of the two countries differ greatly in relation to Kosovo, but stressed that Belgrade and Tirana agree on the future of the region. He said that his meeting with Jeremić ushers in a new era in relations between the two countries, adding that Albania and Serbia both have key roles in the reconciliation between Serbs and Albanians in the Balkans. Both foreign ministers said that they will work on improving the status of Serb minorities in Albania and Albanian minorities in Serbia. Meta will be in the Preševo Valley region on Saturday, where he will be meeting with Southern Serbia Coordination Center Chief Milan Marković.