Prishtina, 27 June 2010
Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi has been hosted by Prime Minister Sali Berisha of Albania in a working lunch at an Albanian Government villa in Durres.
Prime Minister Thaçi and Prime Minister Berisha agreed that Albania will provide Kosovo any document it needs on its path towards the EU. Furthermore, it was decided that Albanian diplomacy will be a major supporter of Prishtina following the International Court of Justice’s opinion on the legitimacy of Kosovo’s independence.
During the meeting, the Prime Ministers discussed issues related to their bilateral cooperation and the support that Albania could offer Kosovo in its European integration process.
Prime Minister Thaçi and Prime Minister Berisha were accompanied by their respective ministers of foreign and internal affairs, European integration and finance.
In a press conference following the meeting, the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Albania stated that overcoming many political, and integration, challenges requires their full and close bilateral cooperation.
Prime Minister Berisha expressed his readiness to exchange documents with Kosovo related to the visa liberalization process. Mr. Berisha stated, “With Mr. Thaçi, we agreed to exchange any document, law, platform, project or program or technical expertise so as to make sure this process runs smoothly and is in full compliance with best known practices.”
Prime Minister Thaçi said that Albania is a strong ally of Kosovo, in all aspects. He emphasized, “As I have said before, the successful experience of Albania could be a huge support for the future of Kosovo. And it is this experience that we discussed with Prime Minister Berisha and other ministers, especially related to the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Integration, Ministry of Economy and Finance and many other administration and institutional segments of cooperation.”
Prime Minister Thaçi also mentioned, in his press statement following his lunch with Mr. Berisha, the upcoming ICJ opinion on the legality of Kosovo’s declaration of independence.
“Kosovo is now entering a new chapter, on which I also briefed Prime Minister Berisha. He is closely following this process and has made available all additional support and potential of the Government of Albania, at a time when we are all impatiently awaiting the opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo’s status and its secure perspective for integration into NATO, the European Union and, in a near future, also in the United Nations Organization,” said Mr. Thaçi.
The Prime Minister said that he believed the Court’s opinion will be in favor of Kosovo. He stated, “The opinion of the International Court of Justice will be in line with the decisions of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo for an independent and sovereign state based on the will of the people of Kosovo.”
Mr. Thaçi added that, following the ICJ opinion, a new perspective will be created for Kosovo, in terms of its membership into important international mechanisms.
“I expect that, following the issuance of the opinion by the International Court of Justice, the existing gap between the 22 EU Member States that have recognized the independence of Kosovo and the 5 members that are still in the recognition process will be bridged,” said Prime Minister Thaçi.
Prime Minister Berisha gave a similar statement, he stated, “It is true that the decision by the International Court in The Hague is imminent and I am convinced that it will be a major contribution to peace in the Balkans. There can be no doubt that this decision will not be in contradiction with the historical, legal and international rights of the people of Kosovo.” The Prime Minister of Albania went on to say that, in this aspect, Tirana and Prishtina have the same position.
Prime Minister Thaçi noted, “Of course we have discussed and will coordinate our projects to encourage and enhance understanding among our international partners on their fairest and most accelerated decision to recognize the independence of Kosovo. I also want to say that this trend is absolutely positive. The will of sovereign and free countries to do so is increasing and the number of states that recognize Kosovo will grow considerably in the months to come.”
Prime Minister Berisha commented the perspective of talks between Prishtina and Belgrade, following the issuance of the ICJ’s opinion. He stated, “What can never be on the agenda of this dialogue is the issue of the territorial integrity of Kosovo. Here, both our governments are firmly convinced that preserving the existing borders in the Western Balkans, and in the entire Balkans as a whole, is in the best interest of all the nations and states in this region and any attempt to modify them would open a new cycle of trouble and conflicts, from which it would take decades for our peninsula to recover from.”
Last modified: July 31, 2022