Ohrid, 19 March 2023 (MIA) — Without the help of our friends and our allies, this would have never happened. This is another example of how North Macedonia is a reliable partner that is helping the United States and the European Union achieve regional stability, US Deputy Assistant Secretary and Special Envoy to the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar told a news conference Saturday night after the end of the 12-hour EU-mediated Ohrid talks held as part of the Belgrade–Prishtina Dialogue.

After thanking Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski for organizing the meeting, Escobar congratulated Serbia’s leader and Kosovo’s leader on reaching what he said was a difficult but necessary deal to establish peaceful and predictable relations between the two countries.

“This opens the door of the region to enter a new era of peace,” Escobar said.

The American diplomat also thanked the EU representatives for reaching this “visionary moment,” pledging that the US would help in the implementation of the agreement and contribute to peace in the Balkans.

After the long talks in Ohrid on Saturday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti agreed on how to implement the Agreement on the Path to Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia they accepted during their previous EU-facilitated high-level meeting in Brussels on Feb. 27. mr/