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President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani has been received at a meeting by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with the highest state honours on Tuesday.At the meeting with President Erdoğan, President Osmani accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Donika Gërvalla and the KSF Commander Lieutenant General Bashkim Jashari, thanked Turkey for its support to Kosovo during the liberation and independence processes as well as in state-building, said a statement released by the Kosovo presidential press office on Wednesday. During the meeting held on Tuesday, President Osmani received the confirmation of President Erdoğan that Turkey supports Kosovo’s membership in NATO.
The Turkish President also expressed his readiness to further assist Kosovo in securing new recognitions, for which he promised his personal commitment.The current political situation in the Western Balkans region and in Europe was a discussion topic at the meeting of two Presidents.President Osmani, referring to the situation in Ukraine, stressed that Kosovo condemns the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. According to her, Russia and its ally Serbia, aim to destabilize the Western Balkans, challenging and threatening the sovereignty and stability not only of Kosovo but also of the region. Therefore, according to President Osmani, the democratic world must resolutely and unitedly respond to the tendencies of Russia and Serbia to destabilize the Western Balkans. Regarding the dialogue with Serbia, she reiterated that this process should be focused on mutual recognition.The possibilities of expansion of cooperation in the field of defense, healthcare, trade, economic exchange, tourism, etc. were discussed at the meeting of the two state delegations.
Three cooperation agreements in the field of youth and sports were also signed between the Governments of Kosovo and Turkey, as well as one in the field of forestry and a memorandum of understanding on the protocol between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs.On possible NATO membership for Kosovo, Erdoğan said at a joint news conference with Osmani that Ankara would take steps to get the Balkan nation recognized as a NATO member.”We’ve always advocated and still advocate that it would be advantageous to enlarge NATO,” adding that Turkey wanted this “for world peace.” /Argumentum.al
