Thewesternbalkans
Kosovo celebrates the 25th anniversary of the end of the NATO campaign that stopped the ethnic cleansing of the Albanians. On June 10, 1999, NATO Secretary General Javier Solana issued the order to stop bombing Serbia, while the UN Security Council on the same day approved Resolution 1244.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is staying in Pristina in the framework of the 25th anniversary of the war’s end. As Prime Minister of Britain, Blair was one of the most vocal supporters of NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999. He met President Vjosa Osmani and walked to parliament to address MPs in a special session scheduled for his arrival. He also had official meetings with the speaker of parliament Glauk Konjufca and the prime minister Albin Kurti.
In his speech held in the Parliament of Kosovo, the former Prime Minister Blair, has said that he has never regretted helping Kosovo in its liberation 25 years ago. He said that the triumph of the NATO intervention would not have come without the determination and courage of the people of Kosovo. According to him, the struggle of the Kosovar people symbolized the will for a better future as an independent and sovereign state.
As part of the celebrations, Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama visited Kosovo where he was received by President Vjosa Osmani. In the prime minister’s agenda, a meeting with the mayor of the Municipality of Pristina Përparim Rama is planned.
Former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema and US Ambassador to Pristina Geoffrey Hovenier will also take part in the celebrations.
Comment: Kosovo is unofficially celebrating June 12 as liberation day to mark the anniversary of the deployment of NATO forces on the ground after the UN Resolution 1244 was adopted on June 10, 1999.
In the agenda of Kosovo officials during the anniversary celebrations, a strong impression is made by the absence of a meeting between Edi Rama and Albin Kurti.
The relationship between the two Albanian counterparts continues to remain tense, even though they have often appeared in joint activities, but distanced from each other. One of the most important causes is the “Open Balkan” initiative that Rama started with Serbia and North Macedonia.
