TIRANA, April 26 – Prime Minister Edi Rama said that Serbia must be kept very close and everything must be done for the Western Balkans to be united politically in an interview for the show “Porta a Porta” on Wednesday.
Asked if Albania is afraid of a possible expansion of the European Union that includes Serbia, at a time when we see Serbia very close to Russia, Rama said that “no, we are not afraid of that, but we are a sufficiently distinguished voice in the Balkans Westerners saying that we must keep Serbia very close and we must do everything to be politically united.”
“On the other hand, of course there are differences because Serbia has not sanctioned Russia for clear reasons that at some point it must be understood that they are reasons of a political and historical nature, but also of a pragmatic nature,” he added.
Speaking about the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Balkans and in particular on Albania, Rama said that “we must do everything to avoid that the passion for war does not involve us in creating disputes between NATO member countries and pro NATO in the Balkans and between Serbia and the communities belonging to a Slavic-Orthodox world, which is closely connected with Russia.”
Answering a question, Rama emphasized that a European Union that includes Albania and other Balkan countries, without Serbia, cannot be thought of.
Rama also spoke about the war in Ukraine, stressing that, “the biggest possibility is that this is one of the so-called frozen conflicts, but with a very impressive dimension that can take hostage not only Russia and Ukraine, but the whole world for a long period of time. And, if the Russians have always been quite tough fighters, the Ukrainians are the same. So to say that it (the conflict) can be settled without them seems quite difficult to me.” /Argumentum.al
