Skopje, 17 June 2022 (MIA) - Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani met with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs and Western Balkans Special Representative, Gabriel Escobar, on the sidelines of the Prespa Forum Dialogue in Ohrid. Michael Carpenter, U.S. Ambassador to OSCE, and Kate Marie Byrnes, U.S. Ambassador to North Macedonia, also attended the meeting. Interlocutors welcomed the recently held Strategic Dialogue between the United States and North Macedonia in Washington as a new phase in bilateral relations and an upgrade of the strategic partnership, as well as an excellent opportunity for further deepening and concrete framing of the cooperation in areas of interest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. Talks focused on the European perspective of North Macedonia and the Western Balkan region as a common strategic goal, as well as the current situation in that context. The need to start negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania for full-fledged EU membership as soon as possible was stressed, as an important contribution to the stability and progress of the region and a way to restore European credibility in the region, reads the press release. "The EU enlargement process is a security issue, which is why the acceleration of the Western Balkans’ European integration processes is key to the preservation of our regional stability, and Europe as a whole. We highly appreciate the US continuous support for sooner start of the negotiation process with the EU, which is a shared strategic interest, as well as a guarantee to limit third party influence,” Osmani said. In addition, interlocutors discussed security challenges in the region of OSCE, as well as how they reflect on the Balkans’ political constellation. The country’s determination, resilience and active commitment to multilateralism was also welcomed in terms of the upcoming OSCE Chairpersonship, as well as other multilateral formats, at a time when the world is facing major challenges, adds the press release. dk/nn/