Skopje, Tirana, Pristina and Podgorica Launch Regional Platform

North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani

North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro launched in Skopje, on March 29, a new regional platform, the Western Balkan QUAD – 100% Alignment with EU Foreign Policy, North Macedonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

The platform was launched by the host, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Olta Xhacka, a deputy to Kosovo’s foreign minister, Kreshnik Ahmeti and a foreign policy advisor to the Montenegrin prime minister, Djordje Radulovic.

The foreign ministry went on to say that the theme of the meeting in Skopje was “full alignment of the four states included in the QUAD group with the European Union’s joint foreign and security policy, in the light of new geopolitical reality, hybrid threats, energy crisis and economic consequences caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

“After Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, alignment with the EU joint foreign and security policy, and by extension, with the positions and values of a democratic world, has become one of the top priorities for the countries aspiring to join the Union. It’s also a clear message where they belong,” Osmani said during the meeting, adding that he was glad the informal QUAD forum was in place.