American diplomat declared about changing borders, appeals for caution

The US diplomat, former US ambassador to several countries in the region, Christopher Hill has not indicated against changing the borders between Kosovo and Serbia, but has demanded that this issue be dealt with carefully because it can produce long-term consequences.

Ambassador Hill, who is staying in Tirana for the Southeast European Peace Summit, also spoke of security in the Balkans, Russian influence and claims to establish a Balkan minister.

Hill: I'm not against changing borders, but it needs to be done carefully.

“Border corrections are a very important and very heavy subject. They cannot be made without great and good knowledge of these boundaries and to see how people feel about it. These are topics not related to the revision or drafting of an annual budget, but to a much longer-term future... They must be extremely careful about these things. It may seem that the right thing, but I would never rush into such things. Another thing is that there are differences among countries that people believe will be resolved in border exchange. These differences go deeper than that... I'm not against, I understand why it's being discussed, but it has to be done more carefully”, he said.

Diplomat Hill also spoke of the security situation in the Balkans as he said it was stable, but must be worked every day to improve. For not opening EU membership negotiations for Albania and Macedonia, Hill indicated there is a disappointment.

Hill: Failure to open negotiations

The security situation needs to be improved, but compared to 20 years ago, the situation is better. It is a situation that needs to be worked every day in law enforcement... there is a disappointment not to open negotiations at this moment”, he said.

For the Balkan minister, Ambassador Hill spoke out as he expressed concern over the Russian influence in the Balkans, but stressed that the future of the countries of this region is in NATO and the EU.

Hill: Balkans to be integrated in EU, NATO

“I would like to see agreements that increase mobility, I would like to see an agreement that increases mobility but prohibits broader and larger deals... I have concerns, you have to be very careful, I have some concerns about what's going on in the Balkans for that view, but I have no concerns about what's going to be in the future. The Balkans will be integrated into the EU and NATO”, he said.