Tirana Vows to Tell Serbia to Respect Albanian Rights

Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati said in a meeting in Tirana with representatives of the Albanian community in Serbia that his country will demand that Serbia respects their rights.

"It is a direct obligation of the Serbian authorities to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of the Albanian population in Serbia in compliance with their commitments stemming from the negotiation process with the European Union ...

"What we demand from Serbia is to provide you with the same rights that Serbs enjoy in Kosovo," Bushati said, according to the government website.

During his meeting with representatives from the Presevo Valley, a southern Serbian region with a majority ethnic Albanian population, Bushati underlined that Albania will continue to push for their involvement in the integration processes of Serbia.

"Minister Bushati [noted that their] main concern was their socio-economic, cultural and educational progress and the lack of primary services and standards that are leading to the loss of prospects for young people and their movement from the Valley," the press release said.

It added that Bushati highlighted the importance of continuing the EU-led Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.

"The process of dialogue must be concluded by a mutual recognition agreement between the two countries, which would bring not only the full normalisation of relations between them, but would also be a strong guarantee for democratic stability of the whole region," Bushati said.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Belgrade has refused to recognise. EU-mediated talks on normalisation of relations were launched in Brussels in 2011. Since June, both sides have stated that the talks are entering the...