Kosovo Assembly President, Kadri Veseli, said today that extremists want to create hostilities between countries and to destroy world cultures. “They want a world in hostility and animosities between cultures and countries; a world of chaos where human rights lose their meaning and value. Now is the time to unite around our liberal and democratic values. Religion is too important to be left in the hands of extremists. Now is the time for the victory of liberal humanism,” Veseli said at the Inter-Faith Dialogue Conference in Pristina. “The Republic of Kosovo is a small country but it has inherited a tradition of understanding and coexistence between different religions. Different empires and cultures are part of the history of our country. Our country has created a multi-confessional identity. We take pride in our tradition and this is part of our vision for the future. We have no other vision but that for European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The people of Kosovo are pro-Western”. Veseli also commented a recent article published in The New York Times that portrayed Kosovo as “fertile ground for extremism”. “Recently, we were faced with a tendency, at times intentional and at times not, to present Kosovo as a fertile ground for extremism. This is not the true. This is prejudice and such claims have never contributed to peace between people. The Republic of Kosovo remains committed to the fight against extremism and our allies have congratulated us for this,” Veseli said.