TIRANA, December 3 – In an interview with the Italian media, Gazeta Il Tempo, the President of Albania, Bajram Begaj paid attention to the situation in the Western Balkans and asked Pope Francis that the Vatican recognizes Kosovo.
Begaj gave this interview as part of a visit to the Vatican, where he was hosted by Pope Francis on Friday. According to him, the recognition of Kosovo by the Vatican would further help the efforts for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.
“Our Balkan experience teaches us that war games cannot be played in a region with a problematic past and presence. For this reason, we need continuous dialogue, economic prosperity, positive energy for our citizens, but above all a genuine European projection for our future,” said Begaj.
In addition, he said that the enlargement of the EU towards the Balkans does not have to be opposed by the internal Euroscepticism of some political forces of the Union, but it should be the only way to make the entire Balkans part of it away from the influence of third powers.
According to Begaj, the role of the Pope and the Holy See is very important to increase the attention of the EU and the West not only to maintain peace in the Balkan, but also to ensure the European future of the region.
“In this view, of course, I asked Pope Francis that the Vatican recognize Kosovo as a state, as this recognition would further help the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue efforts that are being led today by the European Union and the United States of America,” said Begaj. /Argumentum.al
