ANTALYA, Türkiye
The Serbian Foreign Minister on Saturday underlined the importance of the EU accession process for the Western Balkan countries.
“The idea of the EU is a supporting factor for the Western Balkan countries to follow a certain path and act in unity and solidarity,” Ivica Dacic said during a panel titled “Challenges and Opportunities in the Balkans”, during the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, organized in southern Turkey. .
Highlighting the historical and geopolitical importance of the Western Balkans, Dacic said that various measures would be taken on issues common to the Balkan countries to further improve peace and stability in the region.
Speaking on the panel, Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic said his country had a “painful past”.
“We are struggling to live together with people who deny genocide and support war crimes; we have transformed our wounds into wisdom. This is what we must do now for the future of the entire Western Balkans,” added Konakovic.
North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, for his part, expressed his belief that Russia would turn to the Western Balkans after the war in Ukraine.
“The solution is to increase resilience in the region, and increased Euro-Atlantic integration is crucial to achieving this goal,” Osmani said.
“North Macedonia has fully aligned its foreign policy with the EU foreign policy,” he added.
Montenegrin Foreign Minister Filip Ivanovic stressed that the EU is the best method to bring the Balkan countries closer together.
Stressing that his country’s EU integration process took a long time, Ivanovic said: “Montenegro has been negotiating with the EU for 12 years, which is a very long time. It is in the interest of a common European future for the Western Balkans. peoples and countries. »
*Written by Zehra Nur Duz
