Podgorica, (MINA) – The countries of the region should be committed to the Berlin Process, said Albanian PM Edi Rama, adding that the Open Balkan (OB) fulfilled its purpose.

Following the meeting with his Montenegrin counterpart Dritan Abazovic, Rama told the press conference that the OB was not his private company, but a joint initiative of several countries.

He said that he had the privilege to take part in it, and that he would have done it again a thousand times if he could go back in time.

Asked if Albania gave up on OB, Rama responded that the initiative fulfilled its mission.

He said that it was opposed with the conspiracy theories that it was a Chinese- Russian plan, which influenced other countries to start suspecting the initiative.

Rama said that the countries of the region should be committed to the Berlin process, adding that it had a historical opportunity to enter the process that included the EU financial plan.

He said that it was important for Montenegro and Albania to have a joint position in regard to the situation in the region at the forthcoming NATO summit.

Asked if he would keep insisting that Montenegro should join the OB, Abazovic replied that Montenegro was present in more than 70 initiatives.

“I remain at the position that we can only have benefits from the regional initiatives. It is in Montenegro’s interest, if we want to be successful in the EU accession process, to raise the regional cooperation to the highest level”, said Abazovic.

He said that every initiative that can contribute to this goal was more than welcome.

Asked how he saw the relations between Serbia and Kosovo, Abazovic said that the conflict was not good for any side nor for the region, as well as that the implementation of the agreement between the two sides should be initiated.

He said that the goal of Rama’s visit to Podgorica was de-escalation of the situation in the region and directing the Western Balkans towards its future.