German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful called for the rapid formation of a government in Kosovo and said that the country's stability is crucial for its European path, the Koha Ditore newspaper reported, quoted by BTA.
He made his statement during his visit to Pristina yesterday, where he met with Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister Albin Kurti and German soldiers from the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR). The visit is part of Vaddeful's tour of the Western Balkans.
“For Kosovo's success to continue, the country needs a government capable of acting both internally and externally as soon as possible,“ Vaddeful said, referring to the eight-month stalemate in forming a cabinet.
During her meeting with him, President Osmani requested Germany's support for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Kosovo by the EU in June 2023, as well as for the country's membership in NATO, the EU and the Council of Europe. She stressed that Kosovo seeks to participate in all international institutions as an active contributor, not a burden.
Vaddeful expressed dissatisfaction with the stalemate in the dialogue with Belgrade and stressed the need for concrete progress, pointing to the implementation of the 2023 Ohrid Agreement on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. For Kosovo, this means taking steps to establish a Union of Serbian Municipalities (USM), despite the country's Constitutional Court declaring it unconstitutional.
The meeting with Prime Minister Kurti also discussed Kosovo's application for EU membership. Kurti said the country deserves candidate status and that the European Commission should provide Kosovo with the membership questionnaire. Security in the northern regions was also discussed, including the 2023 attack in the village of Banska, which killed a Kosovo police officer, while the leader of the paramilitary group remains at large in Serbia.