Presidential summit to be held in Ohrid cancelled after Albania and Croatia refuse to attend because Kosovo was not invited by Macedonia at the request of Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina.
TIRANA, May 29 -Albanian President Bujar Nishani decided against taking part at the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southeast European Cooperation Process , due to be held in Ohrid on June 1-2, 2013, after the Macedonian hosts did not incite his Kosovo counterpart, President Atifete Jahjaga, at the event.
The same decision was taken by other presidents in the region, leading to Skopje cancelling the summit altogether. The Macedonian organizers had not invited Kosovo due to pressure from Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina, which do not recognize Prishtina’s independence.
Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said he canceled the event to protect “the state interest and dignity of Macedonia,” noting that his country does not want to take part in a game of vetoes and boycotts.
“Unfortunately, old Balkan prejudices and complexes have surfaced in the run-up to the summit and I will not let Macedonia pay the price,” said Ivanov, the organizer of the event. “We have been preparing for this summit all year and we have done everything to bring all leaders from the region to the same table.”
Nishani said that not inviting Jahjaga goes against the spirit of cooperation and dialogue prevailing in the region to meet the common goal, that of European integration.
A statement by Albanian officials said Kosovo was left out of the summit after Serbia’s pressure, a move that runs counter to the agreements signed between Kosovo and Serbia, and “more concretely it conflicts with article 14 of the Taci-Dacic Agreement signed in Brussels on April 19, 2013.”
The forum is a central and unique initiative in the region.
Nishani said that it should be an overall institution “where all the countries of the region are present and unify their stands with the jointproblems in the development and integration process into the European family.” “Not isolation and exclusion but cooperation and integration are the conditions for the full success of its mission,” said Nishani in a statement.
The National Albanian American Council, a Washington-based lobbying group, strongly condemned the Governments of Serbia and Bosnia “for colluding against inviting Kosova President Atifete Jahjaga to attend the South East European Cooperation Process Summit, in Macedonia.” It also condemned Macedonia “for acquiescing to the pressure by not extending the invitation as the host country.” The SEECP was formed as an institution for regional cooperation. The 16th summit of heads of states and prime ministers of the South-East European Cooperation Process, SEECP was due to take place on June 1 in the lakeside town of Ohrid, Macedonia.
“Despite my efforts in communicating with Macedonia’s [foreign minister Nikola] Poposki, they did not extend an invitation. This is a real concern for Kosovo-Macedonia relations, it goes against the spirit of regional cooperation and represents anti-European behavior,” Kosovo’s Foreign Minister, Enver Hoxhaj, said on Sunday.
