The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Olta Xhaçka, participated in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, held in Turkey.
During her speech at the panel “Reconciliatory dialogue in the Balkans”, Minister Xhaçka stressed that the EU has done a great job for the Western Balkans region. According to her, the attack on Ukraine reconfirmed what Albania has been warning for a long time: third actors are intervening to undo all that we have achieved so far.
“In previous conversations, I remember talking to everyone and this is a perspective of our country that the European Union was not thinking strategically, was not adopting a strategic approach to the security and to the European perspective of the region, because integration was being stalled. The merit based process that we had embarked on, although we had fulfilled all the obligations we had done, all of our homework was being artificially sort of stalled and it created a vacuum. The European Union lost its credibility.” said the Albanian chief diplomat.
As for the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Minister Xhaçka stressed that the EU should accelerate the integration process of the Western Balkans, which is essential for the security of the region.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum is a high-level meeting of diplomacy professionals such as political leaders, diplomats, analysts and academics. It presents a platform for regional and global actors coming from diplomacy, politics and business to exchange ideas and address international challenges.
