President warns of danger posed by "Greater Albania" plans

The latest terrorist attacks in the region "confirm fears that creators of the so-called Greater Albania are not resting," Tomislav Nikolic has said.
Source: Beta Monday, May 25, 2015 | 12:03

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(Tanjug, file)

"The terrorist attacks, as well as deliberate provocations during the visit of the Tirana delegation (to Serbia) are a signal that the entire region at risk," the Serbian president told Italy's Ansa news agency ahead of the visit of his Italian counterpart.
"I think this problem should be jointly opposed by all countries that have a significant Albanian population, which is a prerequisite for the planned territorial unification of Albanian territories," Nikolic stated.

According to him, the plan to create "a Greater Albania" dates back to 1878 and "the military-political association for the defense of the rights of the Albanian people," that sought to create "an integrated territory in the territories of Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Montenegro."

"The methods to achieve this idea have been thoroughly prepared and are being carried out through terrorist actions, and it is very important that the international community recognizes them as such," said the Serbian president.

Serbia has "a crystal clear foreign policy orientation," he also said - and that is the priority of joining the European Union, "as confirmed by our deeds."

"At the same time, Serbia is a sovereign country that does not forget its history and must not forget the current economic interests. Today we do not participate in the formulation of foreign policy positions of the European Union. I think that explains it all, so it is unnatural to expect that we will automatically and technically fall in line behind the decisions in the making of which we do not participate," " Nikolic said when asked about "relations with Russia, to which Belgrade did not impose sanctions when the EU did."

The president added that Serbia is fully committed to its European path and has done a lot to make sure the provisions of the Brussels agreement with Pristina are implemented on the ground.

"However, the (Kosovo) Albanian side for its part has not made the slightest sign of good will. We expect European officials to make additional efforts so that the Albanians fulfull what they have signed to normalize the lives of all citizens who live in the province, regardless of their nationality. The life of Serbs in the province is extremely difficult and complicated, equality and life in freedom are far from their reality," Nikolic said.

He added that Serbia "owes a debt of gratitude to the Italian KFOR troops" for their efforts to save the population and the Serb holy places from total destruction.

Nikolic added that relations between Serbia and Italy two are very good, "but there is always room to build new ones and improve the existing." The president stressed the importance of Italy's continuous political support when it comes to giving Serbia a date to open its accession negotiations with the European Union.