Turkish president to visit Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia next week

Photo: Tanjug/AP

The Balkans should take its destiny into its own hands and remove all obstacles in order to progress faster and achieve greater prosperity, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today at the opening of the Open Balkan initiative summit in Belgrade, and announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Croatia next week.

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"This initiative provides that possibility and is something promising," stressed the head of Turkish diplomacy, a guest of the summit, and added that Turkey has always spoken about the importance of Balkan policies.

Cavusoglu said that for Turkey, there are two challenges in this region.

"The situation in BiH will be our priority. We cannot allow a conflict to exist in the heart of the Balkans. Another challenge is the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, which has shown how much it is necessary to concentrate on common interests," he stressed.

Cavusoglu said that Turkey has open communication with both sides and announced continued support for the dialogue, in order to reach an agreement on license plates and all other issues.

He said that Turkey is proud to be a part of the Balkans and rejects the artificial division into the west and the east of it.

"We have to solve our problems in the interest of all of us. The Balkans should take its fate into its own hands and remove all obstacles to better growth and greater prosperity. We will continue to support every effort for the benefit of everyone in the region," said Cavusoglu.

He expressed his belief that this initiative will contribute to greater direct foreign investments.

"A war in Europe was an wake up call for all of us. We see how vulnerable we are. Winter is coming and energy and food security is challenging, and the only recipe is solidarity," he stressed.

He said that Turkey is working on ways to help its neighbors in the Balkans in providing gas during the winter.

(Telegraf.rs)