Kosovo honors victims of September 11 attacks

Kosovo's state leaders have remembered and honored the victims of September 11, paying homage at the "Kosovo Remembers" memorial, on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States.

Acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, after the tributes, said that a quarter of a century ago, the US faced the deadliest attacks and the world suffered the most severe blow to democratic values.

"Kosovo stands by the US not only because the US has never abandoned Kosovo. We stand and will always stand with America because our commitment to freedom and democracy and our determination to defend these values ​​is unwavering," Kurti said.

He recalled that a year ago he had visited the memorial dedicated to the September 11 attacks in New York and said that he left a short note there: "Memory lives, freedom wins."

Meanwhile, the acting president of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, in her speech recalled the experiences of September 11, 2001, saying that the people of Kosovo stood in solidarity with the USA on that day, as American flags and signs reading "America, we are with you" were placed throughout the country.

The attack on the US, according to her, was not experienced in Kosovo as a tragedy of another, distant country.

"The attack was understood as an attack on freedom, democracy and human dignity, values ​​that had also been at the foundation of American support for Kosovo," she said.

Haxhiu said that the younger generation did not experience that day, so she said that in addition to honoring the victims, they need to be taught what happened on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

"Kosovo felt its pain then and shares its memory today, honoring the victims and preserving the same closeness that was demonstrated in the most difficult days for our two countries. May the memory of the victims of September 11 be eternal," said Haxhiu.

Party leaders in Kosovo are also expected to pay homage during the day at the memorial in Pristina dedicated to the victims of September 11.

On September 11, 2001, four planes struck various locations in the US, killing nearly 3.000 people.

Nineteen members of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked planes, crashing two of them into the Twin Towers in New York, while one plane hit the Pentagon, while the fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.