The European Union should urgently unblock the start of accession negotiations with Macedonia and Albania and must not allow the Western Balkans to be left as an open issue and an open wound, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said Tuesday in terms of how likely it is for the Ukraine situation to spill over into the Balkans.

The first step, the urgent step that needs to be taken is to immediately unblock the start of negotiations for these two countries so that we can also help prevent possible deterioration of the situation in these two issues. However, in conditions when we have our situation, we cannot contribute properly as NATO member here in the region or a longer EU candidate with experience in these processes. So, the first decision to prevent the deterioration of the situation in the region is to immediately start negotiations with Macedonia and Albania.

According to him, the situation with Ukraine once again warns the EU that it must not leave the Western Balkans as an open issue and an open wound, and that all measures should be taken urgently to introduce new dynamics in the region that will further strengthen the EU’s role on the global stage.