Skopje, 29 May 2023 (MIA) — Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani met Monday with several participants of the GlobSec 2022 Bratislava Forum, including Pierre Heilbronn, the Special Envoy of the President of the Republic for Ukraine's relief and reconstruction from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release, Osmani's meetings focused on North Macedonia's and the Western Balkans' European accession process, with him reaffirming the state's commitment to developing cooperation between the countries of the Western Balkans as the only path to progress.

As current OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Osmani also presented during the talks the organization's priority efforts. "The OSCE is in Ukraine, supports the Ukrainian people and closely observes the situation. North Macedonia's OSCE Chairpersonship will make available all OSCE mechanisms for ensuring peace and respect for international humanitarian law on the part of Russia," the release quotes Osmani as saying.

At his meeting with Tsikhanouskaya, Osmani emphasized the OSCE's support for the Belarusian people in their fight for democracy and freedom, "stressing the need for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners of the Lukashenko regime," the release adds.

On Tuesday, Osmani will address a panel on the European Union's future enlargement, take part in several other discussions, and hold a number of bilateral meetings. mr/