Selenica: Turkey could play the role of a mediator to bring Kosovo and Serbia back to dialogue

The editor-in-chief of news at Radio Television Albania and political analyst Gert Selenica expressed confidence that Turkey, given its significant influence in the Western Balkans, could play the role of mediator between Serbia and Kosovo to bring the parties back to dialogue and the implementation of the agreements already reached.

Selenica, commenting on the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Albania and Serbia, noted that Kosovo had been on the agenda of the meetings.

"Turkey was among the first countries to recognize Kosovo's independence. Serbia, of course, cannot accept this, but we must not forget that Kosovo, Albania, and Serbia are all countries aiming to join the European Union, and whether they like it or not, they will have to make some compromises. Turkey, as a powerful country with great influence in the region, I believe, will once again play the role of mediator in finding an acceptable solution, and for now, the acceptable solution is to bring the parties back to dialogue and the implementation of agreements so that these states are not hindered in their parallel paths to the European Union," Selenica said to Kosovo Online.

Speaking about relations between Ankara and Tirana, he observed that Turkey's economic influence in Albania is growing.

He also notes that Serbian-Turkish cooperation has been elevated to a higher level, with increased imports from Serbia, and that Ankara also maintains close relations with Pristina.

"There are official statistics for this. Prime Minister Rama, reflecting on his words at the meeting with Erdogan, stated that Albania intends to achieve a trade exchange of up to two billion euros. We can emphasize that Turkey's influence in Albania will continue to grow. It is no small matter that Turkey considers our country a strategic partner. This means that Albania will have open doors in Turkey, whether for trade agreements or agreements in other sectors. I believe the same situation exists in relations between Belgrade and Turkey. It is well known that Turkey is a country with very close commercial relations with Serbia, but it also has very close relations with Kosovo, even though it is a new state," Selenica stated.