UPDATE - Kosovo president reiterates excellent bilateral relations with Türkiye

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS; ADDS REMARKS BY TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Sunday said her country has "excellent interstate relations" with Türkiye.

According to a statement released by the presidency in the capital Pristina, Osmani and Cavusoglu discussed bilateral cooperation in foreign policy, defense, trade, and other fields, as well as current developments in the region and Europe.

Osmani stressed that integrating the Western Balkans into Euro-Atlantic structures restricts Russia's influence and destabilizing tendency in the region, the statement said.

"I appreciate President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan's clear support for Kosovo's membership in NATO and other international institutions. We need such support from Türkiye for Kosovo's candidacy to the Council of Europe," the president said.

She emphasized that Türkiye is one of their important NATO partners and that the Turkish community in Kosovo, as well as the large Albanian diaspora in Türkiye, serves as a strong bridge between the two countries.

The two countries' relations have the potential to deepen, especially in the fields of investment and Kosovo's exports to Türkiye.

During his visit to Kosovo, Cavusoglu also met with Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

"We discussed the possibilities of improving our cooperation with Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti. We emphasized the threat posed by the presence of FETO (terror group) for Kosovo," said Cavusoglu on social media.

After his official meetings in the capital, Cavusoglu visited Prizren, where he met with the Turkish community, and is also visited the Turkish battalion and the city of Mamusa, where the majority of population is ethnic Turks.

The Turkish foreign minister is currently on a tour of the Balkans and has so far visited Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and Kosovo.

Earlier in the day, Türkiye and Kosovo signed a civil aviation memorandum of understanding to increase the number of flights.

Speaking to the ethnic Turks in Mamusa, Cavusoglu said Türkiye is currently stronger than ever.

“We know that your hearts beat with Türkiye. We know that you rejoice with the joy of Türkiye and are saddened with its sadness. Praise be to you, your homeland is stronger than ever and stands by you with all its might. Together with all our institutions, we support your effort to keep your identity, language, religion, and culture alive. Our goal should be to raise a generation that adheres to its identity and values,” said Cavusoglu.

Mamusa is the only Turkish municipality in the country.

Visiting the Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party (KDTP) as part of his visit to Prizren, Cavusoglu met with Fikrim Damka, the minister of Regional Development of Kosovo and the head of the KDTP.

Cavusoglu also visited the Turkish Representative Delegation Headquarters, located in the "Sultan Murat Barracks" and serving as part of the NATO Peacekeeping Force in the country.