TIRANA, August 22 – Prime Minister Edi Rama has reacted after the absence of an invitation to participate in the informal dinner of the leaders of the Western Balkans and the European Union, which took place in Athens on August 21.
“I am happy that Kyriakos took the initiative to host very important leaders and to discuss the European future of the Balkans against the background of Russian aggression. The region needs Greece to be more involved in our common path. I have always told him or other Greek friends, saying it publicly on several occasions, that I sincerely believe that their country has a natural role to play in the Balkans given its profile and experience in the EU,” said Rama in his post on social networks on Tuesday.
Rama hoped very much that the meeting would have been productive and according to him, he would rather not have seen the dinner used to send Albania a contradictory message against the much more ambitious goal of the initiative and hoped that this unfortunate fact would not confuse his honored guests. “As far as I’m concerned, talking, communicating, debating with friends, allies, partners and neighbors, first of all, is the essence of international politics, and to try, always to try, to put yourself in the other’s shoes is a necessity. Even more so when things seem to go wrong.”
Rama said that Albania will chair this year’s Berlin Process Summit in Tirana in October. “Obviously, my dear friend and highly respected colleague in Athens has been invited to attend and I could never imagine responding quietly by inviting instead the Greek president, for whom I also have the greatest respect,”he added.
The PM concluded by saying what should unite us in such troubled times for the sake of our people, our countries, our region, our Europe is greater than what divides us. /argumentum.al
