Meta says Kosovo’s future in EU

TIRANA, March 15 – During his recent visit to Belgrade Foreign Minister Ilir Meta also paid special attention to Kosovo in his numerous interviews to the international news agencies and radio stations.
Meta said that although Belgrade and Tirana have different views on Kosovo’s status, he believes they agree that the region’s future is in the European Union.
During his visit to Belgrade both sides stressed the importance of Serbian-Albanian relations for stability in the region.
Meta said it is well known that, “Ưur positions on Kosovo independence are fundamentally different.”
“We share the belief that despite key differences on the [Kosovo] status issue, bilateral and regional cooperation should not be conditioned by those disagreements,” Meta said. “I believe that the same principle is valid even in the relationships between Prishtina and Belgrade. Despite the disagreements between Kosovo and Serbian leaderships it is in the interests of Kosovo citizens and in the regional interests to solve all practical issues related with the daily life of Kosovar citizens through dialogue.”
Meta also added that Albania would cooperate fully with any investigation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or the Council of Europe on allegations of organ trafficking during the Kosovo war “so these speculations can come to an end.”
“Albania is ready for a full investigation to (put) an end to these allegations of (former UN war crimes prosecutor) Carla del Ponte,” the minister told AFP at the end of a rare two-day visit to Serbia.
Claims that ethnic Albanian rebels kidnapped and killed Kosovo Serbs in Albania to sell their organs abroad first surfaced in Del Ponte’s book “Madame Prosecutor”.
“We are ready to cooperate very openly and also in a very transparent way for a full investigation which (will) end these allegations and speculations,” Meta said.
“I am convinced they are unfounded,” the minister told a press conference earlier when asked about the claims.