Pristina, 20 June 2022 (TDI): The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, arrived in Kosovo on Saturday, where he was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz.
Turkey will not allow the Balkan region to turn back to the dark days of the 90s, the Turkish Foreign Minister said on Sunday, underlining Ankara’s support for the stability of Kosovo as well as that of the region.
During a press conference with Kosovo Foreign Minister, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, in Pristina, Çavuşoğlu said “As Turkey, we have frequently voiced that we will not allow the region to turn into the dark days of the 90s.
For this purpose, we are engaging in all kinds of work. As a country that is on good terms with and has a dialogue with all region’s countries. We will continue our efforts in this regard. Therefore dialogue is vital for the region’s permanent peace and stability”.
“Today we also had the chance to reiterate once again our support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political unity of Kosovo.
We care about strengthening Kosovo’s state institutions, its regional and international integration.” Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said, emphasizing Ankara supports the membership of Kosovo in European-Atlantic institutions.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The United States and most of the Western countries recognize the declaration, but Serbia does not and continues to lay claim to the territory.
Kosovo has always stood by Turkiye in challenging times, the Foreign Minister of Kosovo on her part said, indicating also that similarly, Ankara has extended support to the problems in the Balkan region.
The two counterparts during their meeting discussed relations and regional developments while signing a memorandum of understanding on civil aviation aimed at increasing trade and tourism.
Later in the day, the Turkish Foreign Minister met with Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani, and according to the statement released by the Presidency in Pristina, Osmani and Çavuşoğlu discussed bilateral cooperation in foreign policy, trade, defense, and other fields as well as current developments in the region and Europe.
“I appreciate President Erdogan’s clear support for Kosovo’s membership in NATO and other international institutions. We need such support from Turkiye for Kosovo’s candidacy to the Council of Europe”, the President of Kosovo said.
She emphasized that Turkiye is one of the important NATO partners, and the Turkish community in Kosovo as well as the large Albanian diaspora in Turkiye serves as a strong bridge between the two countries.
After his official meetings in the Capital, the Turkish Foreign Minister visited Prizren, where he met with the Turkish community and also visited Turkish battalions and the city of Mamusa where the majority of the population are ethnic Turks.
