Swedish Ambassador: Kosovo decides for American gas itself, energy security remains a priority

Asked about the issue, Westerlund said he does not want to give assessments of what solution is best, leaving the decision-making to Kosovo institutions and negotiations with international partners.

I don't have any strong stance on this matter. It is up to the Government of Kosovo to make that decision. Of course, it is important for every government to have stable energy supplies. Various ways can be chosen to do so, but I think it is very important that citizens and the economy have a stable energy supply. There are different ways to do this and I won't comment on what's best. This will leave the government and its negotiations with international actors. Sadly, this situation has been going on for a long time. It prevents promotion of trade and economic development, therefore poses a challenge”, Westerlund said.

The Swedish ambassador also spoke of developing economic relations between Kosovo and Sweden, praising the progress made through the Nordic Chamber of Commerce and the role of the Kosovo diaspora in strengthening trade ties between the two countries.

We had the annual meeting of the Nordic Chamber of Commerce Assembly. Now we have as many as 25 members. This is something I started three years ago. I'm so glad we're moving ahead with this initiative. We have strong trade relations between Kosovo and Sweden. I think that shows that we have extremely good bilateral relations between Sweden and Kosovo. It's not just trade. Political relations are also involved. We have a diaspora of about 70 thousand Kosovo Albanians in Sweden, and they are also very useful when it comes to promoting trade between Sweden and Kosovo. So I'm very glad that after four years here we have very good bilateral relations”, Westerlund said./ Periscope.