In an interview with the Montenegrin media, A Plus TV, Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that the world is living in difficult times, but beyond that, he expressed optimism because he says that there is important news coming from the Western Balkans. For the head of the government, the Western Balkans has a position in the international arena that is most appreciated, stressing that they are working very hard so that this region is not a hotbed of conflicts.
" It will never be easy and I don't expect it to get any easier. I think we all have to prepare for the fact that it will become more difficult, because things are getting more and more complicated on every front... We have to work hard, try to work even harder, not lose faith, not to continue where we came from. The Balkans, the Western Balkans have never been in a combat position, " said Rama.
Rama also spoke about the Kosovo problem, the proposed Franco-German agreement between Belgrade and Pristina, as well as his relationship with the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. He said that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is progressing, slowly, but making progress.
" I followed President Vučić's last statement from Davos and I think it was quite respectable given the way he expressed the need to move forward. Of course, in his characteristic very special way of communication, but he showed respect.
There are also many attacks between the President of Serbia and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, which are sometimes even more serious. Imagine if everyone saw only black and white and if everyone held their positions and if no one talked to anyone. Things were no better. So it is always better to talk to people, try to understand the reasons, present your arguments. President Vucic and I always have very strong positions, completely different views on the issue of Kosovo, which he calls Kosovo and Metohija. For me it is the free, democratic, sovereign state of Kosovo. However, if the situation is like this at the moment, I think that meanwhile things are progressing, things are changing. Things are moving in the right direction. Slowly, but they are moving. We used to have no communication and it was impossible to imagine that Serbs and Albanians would be at the same table. So it's going to take time, it's going to take time, but that's okay", commented Rama.
Rama described himself as a special politician in the region and to support this idea he gave an example.
" For example, I am a very good friend of George Soros and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and this is an even higher level of conflict, let's say it is a global duel ," said the prime minister.
The conversation ended with a completely apolitical topic.
"Montenegro is small, but it is a country of great artists. One of them was my dear friend from Tuzi, Leo Dokaj. He passed away, but I have wonderful memories of him and thanks to him I know better the Montenegrin art scene and its history of art, which is incredible, really incredible ," concluded Rama.
Rama also spoke about the Open Balkan project, economic topics related to the cooperation between Albania and Montenegro as well as the countries of the Western Balkans.