Albania protects interests of Kosovo: Premier

BELGRADE, Serbia

Albania works to protect the interests of its fellow Balkan nation of Kosovo, said Prime Minister Edi Rama on Friday.

"It's no secret that we protect Kosovo's interests. We want to complete the freedom of travel process for Kosovo citizens, who also have difficulties as part of the Berlin Process," Rama told a joint press conference with Borjana Kristo, chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the capital Sarajevo.

Last month Rama proposed the creation of an association within Kosovo of municipalities with a Serb majority to help de-escalate tensions and normalize Kosovo’s relationship with the international community.

Most Kosovars are Albanian, but the second-largest group are ethnic Serbs, especially in northern Kosovo near the border with Serbia. In local elections in April, Serbs in northern Kosovo boycotted the mayoral elections, and then tried to block the elected ethnic Albanian mayors from taking office, stoking unrest.

Rama said that they want to achieve freedom of movement through the Berlin Process to boost cooperation between Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia.

A Berlin Process summit is to be held in the Albanian capital Tirana in October, and Kristo said Bosnia and Herzegovina is committed to the Berlin Process, which aims to promote ties between EU states and possible EU state hopefuls in the Balkans.

Rama is currently on a Balkan tour where he is discussing with his colleagues the crisis in Kosovo, the Open Balkans initiative, and the Berlin process.

Ethnic Serbs have been protesting the election of Albanian mayors since late May.

On May 30, NATO decided to deploy 700 more troops to the Kosovo Force (KFOR), the alliance-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, after 30 of its soldiers were injured amid unrest. Turkish troops were among the reinforcements.

The EU requires Kosovo and Serbia to reach a final agreement and resolve disputes to move forward with their integration into the bloc.

Most UN member states – including the US, UK, France, Germany, and Türkiye – recognized Kosovo as a country separate from its neighbors when it declared independence 15 years ago, but Serbia continues to regard Kosovo as its own territory.