Skopje, 22 November 2023 (MIA) – Albanian Prtime Minister Edi Rama has presented at Wednesday's informal leaders meeting of NATO Allies from the region a proposal to create NATO-Western Balkans format which would include not only the NATO member states from the region but also Begrade, Pristina and Sarajevo. 

Speaking at the joint press conference after the meeting in Skopje, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he would look into the proposal from Prime Minister Edi Rama, supported also by Croatia's President.  

"That of course is what we should look into, whether we should meet on a more regular basis and also inviting the partner nations," said Stoltenberg, who stressed that the Western Balkans is important for NATO. 

Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama told the joint press conference that the Secretary General was particularly interested in the proposal for creating the format of a NATO summit with the Western Balkans which would include not only the NATO member states from the region but also the NATO partner countries.  

"In fact, the other countries from the Western Balkans that are not present here today, and of course the other part of the member states that are within the borders of our region and that have immediate interest in the stability and the democratic progress of the region," said Rama. 

Croatian President Zoran Milanović said he believes that what was proposed by Prime Minister Edi Rama is a smart and very welcome proposal, regardless of the range of initiatives in various forms and organizations that are intertwined or even sometimes cancel each other. 

"It is time to think about a forum where these countries would meet, the Southeast European countries and maybe some other countries, and very important Belgrade, Pristina and Sarajevo, and I believe that it deserves the attention of the NATO Secretary General, who will decide about that, if it is viable," Milanović said.

According to Milanović, the proposal is in a way a step forward from the Brdo-Brijuni initiative that has been in place for ten years now and that shows that a normal discussion is indeed possible, and it is indeed good. 

Photo: MIA