Kosovo Speaker Veseli: I urge the citizens of Macedonia to come out in large numbers and vote

I urge the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia to come out in large numbers and vote in the referendum on the agreement with Greece on September 30 in order to pave country’s way for EU and NATO integration, Kosovo’s Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli said Thursday in Skopje.

At the joint press conference with his host Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi said that Kosovo respects the will of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia and its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“We give strong support to the agreement reached between the Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Greece. At the same time as the Republic of Kosovo we want to give the same direction to the dialogue with Serbia in reaching a compromise and we should begin as sovereign and independent country to finalize our journey to the EU,” Veseli noted.

He underlined that now is the time for a new stream of compromise, which will give the countries and citizens the chance to move towards a better future.

Xhaferi noted that the parliament and institutions are currently focused on the successful conduct of the referendum.

“Once again, I urge all who still hesitate about the need to come out and vote. The voting in a referendum is not voting about status of politicians, it is not voting about the status of political parties that happens in elections. September 30 is not a vote for elections, it’s a vote to choose whether we will move forward or remain in the status quo, stuck in the past,” Xhaferi noted.

In regard to the next phase, he added, all views related to the need of the constitutional changes can be heard as of October 1.

He believes that the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia opted for the future because, as he said, “on September 30 every citizen will have the opportunity to decide individually, for his/hers family, for all citizens for the state.”

“While you are working on the referendum and everything that emerges from it, we, as the Republic of Kosovo will continue to work with the Republic of Serbia in reaching final agreement that will enable us to cooperate as two neighbouring countries in the same region, that have same goal, membership in the EU,” Veseli noted.

Regarding the dispute between Kosovo and Serbia, Xhaferi noted that it is not right to use the terminology for the exchange of territories, which is used in the free form of communication.

“The Republic of Macedonia and the institutions, as Parliament Speaker and Parliament, we support the efforts of the countries in finding acceptable solution between two countries in order to finally resolve the last conflict relationship between two countries in the Western Balkans, to this with bilateral agreement and to stop the region to be perceived as place of conflicts,” Xhaferi said.

Veseli said that both Kosovo and Serbia are working towards reaching an agreement and stressed that it is very important to be rational and without emotions and populism in making decisions.

Veseli and Xhaferi agreed to continue to promote the partnership relations between the two countries in all areas of common interest.

“We will especially focus on areas of common interest, which are related to the economic prosperity of the citizens, projects in the field of infrastructure, energy,” Veseli said.

He also added that the Republic of Kosovo plans to complete the section of the highway linking the two countries by the end of December.