Duriqi: US and Turkey, as NATO members, share the same interest in the Balkans

The US and Turkey, as NATO members, share the same interest in the Balkans, and Ankara wouldn't do anything in Kosovo without coordination with Washington, journalist Visar Duriqi believes.

Duriqi tells Kosovo Online that if anyone questions whether Turkey will do anything in Kosovo without coordination with the US, it only indicates one thing: that person knows nothing about the relations between these two superpowers.

"The relationship between Kosovo and Turkey must be viewed from a historical perspective, dating back to the times when Albanians were forced to flee from Nis and emigrate to Turkey. Now there is a large community of Albanians who barely speak Albanian but identify themselves as Albanians. It is estimated that there are now five million of them in Turkey, and some relatives are in Kosovo and call themselves muhajirs – these are people whom Rankovic forced to leave their estates in Nis and its surroundings," Duriqi says.

He emphasizes that Turkey has always supported Kosovo regardless of who the prime minister was.

"As far as relations between countries like Kosovo and Turkey are concerned, nothing has changed with any government. Cooperation has been constant. In any area, Turkey has supported Kosovo regardless of who the prime minister was," Duriqi believes.