Deputy PM for European Affairs Bujar Osmani has encouraged believers to skip mosques, which are set to open on Tuesday, until the COVID-19 situation has stabilized.

There is no way to close the mosques, there is no constitutional or legal grounds to do it. This is a question of cooperation, not agreement between institutions. I encourage people not to go until we are certain that the situation has improved, Osmani told TV 24.

According to him, there has been no coordination either for the recent Orthodox event in Struga or the mosques’ opening.

I was informed by the Islamic Religious Community after the decision was taken. I received a text after midnight and talked to the IRC head on the next day. I decided that the best way is to cooperate as soon as I realized that the decision cannot be altered. As the IRC head said ‘We can possibly sit down and talk if the situation worsens’, says Osmani.

He adds that rivalry is not the solution, because everyone will lose.

If there is rivalry between the communities, even between those who want to go to religious objects and those who don’t, then everyone will lose. Slip ups have occurred everywhere – among health workers, businesses, religious communities, says Osmani.

He urges for caution because fears an increase in the number of infections in the coming period.