Von der Leyen: Belgrade and Pristina should seize the moment
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated that the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina was of great importance, crucial for the stability, security, and prosperity of the region, and that she hoped that both sides would "seize the moment" in the dialogue and be constructive in the upcoming talks, RTV reports.
She said this during an interview organized by the European News Agency, of which Tanjug is a member, along with 16 other agencies.
To Tanjug's reminder that she also discussed the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina with US President Joseph Biden and the question of how important it is for the enlargement process and European stability that Belgrade and Pristina normalize relations, as well as what the consequences would be if the negotiations on March 18 in Ohrid do not bring a result, von der Leyen said that this was a possibility for both sides and expressed the hope that they would be constructive.
"The war in Ukraine underlined the geostrategic importance of the enlargement process. We would like our Western Balkan partners to be as close to us as possible and as quickly as possible," von der Leyen said.
Regarding the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina, she said that there was a European plan, and that plan was on the table.
"I think now is a real opportunity for both sides to seize this moment. Normalization is of great importance and crucial for the stability, security, and prosperity of the region. I sincerely hope both parties will be very constructive in the upcoming talks," von der Leyen stated.
When asked what the consequences could be for both sides of the dialogue if it does not bring results, she said that we should wait for the negotiations and then see what happens.
"Let's negotiate first, and then we'll look at the results," von der Leyen concluded.
