“Albanian-Greek relations are excellent,” the Prime Minister stressed. Albania, Edie Ramaat the conference of Delphi.

“We work very closely together and there is an opportunity to do much more together. There is a feeling that relations between people are so good, and, in the end, politicians should adopt this. The relationship between our people is fantastic,” Mr. Rama said, and continued, “Relations with neighbors are the most important thing.”

Mr. Rama recalled the “difficulties” in the past between the two countries, such as negotiations on the delimitation of maritime spaces and the agreement to turn to The Hague, as well as the introversion of Greece, as he mentioned during and because of the economic crisis. , but now, he says, he has dynamically returned to the wider region and added: “For several years now, and especially during the time of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece has returned to the region. And that’s good for all of us. And so we can work together much better now because Greece is a very important and strategic partner as far as our European perspective is concerned. He offers great support to us and North Macedonia after the settlement of the name and other issues related to it, as well as to the region as a whole.”

“To make up for lost time”

“We need to cooperate with Greece,” continued Mr. Rama, adding: “Strengthening our relationship with Greece is also important for our European perspective. Now Greece is back in the region, they have an ambitious agenda, we must return the lost time.”

The Albanian Prime Minister described as “very good news” the prospect of a Hellenic-Albanian chamber and the prospect of bilateral investment. Mr. Rama pointed out that the trade balance of the two countries is “much lower than it should be” – he even humorously noted that it is below the football value of … Cristiano Ronaldo – and added that “the potential is very large.” big”.

He also noted that the two countries are cooperating closely in the field of energy security, and with regard to trade deals, he added: “We can do better and will try to improve them even more.”

Mr. Rama emphasized that his country is committed to its European perspective, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as, in his words, “war can always return and the EU is a great peace program against war.” However, he criticized it for “acting like a federation of the ‘national financial self’ at times, but now,” as he said, “there is a new spirit,” and added: “What we want to achieve at any cost is the opening of funds.” to join the EU. EU, he wanted the “marriage” to take place, but did not want to talk. How will marriage work without consent? This disappointed us enough. Now we are talking, so the “marriage” is ahead. The only thing that can be said for sure is that we are committed to this “love story”, which we will not give up from now on. If Europe one day resigns because it wants to resign, I don’t know.”

The EU is the only source of hope for a democratic state

However, Mr. Rama noted that all countries of the Western Balkans should cooperate to unity and for their European perspective and the EU. to highlight their efforts and support them. As a negative experience, he noted the fact that at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the countries of the Western Balkans asked for help outside the EU. for example, “Serbia fled to China for help, Albania to Turkey and wherever they could find a solution.” However, the Albanian Prime Minister explained that EU know-how and assistance are needed. to these countries.

“The EU is the only source of knowledge and hope for building a functioning democracy,” Mr Rama said, adding: “If you don’t make these reforms, you can’t have a functioning democracy.”

Mr. Rama then highlighted the differences between the countries of the Western Balkans, such as the different influence exerted by the great powers on their peoples, citing as an example the fact that Russian influence on the peoples of his country is almost zero, while in Serbia and Bosnia it is the majority, that is reflected, he said, and corresponds to the economic and strategic relations of the two countries with Russia. He also noted that some countries are in NATO and others are not, and added: “However, we must be careful, because by pushing too hard on Serbia, we can destroy everything we have been building for so long.”

For Kosovo and Serbia

The Albanian Prime Minister also referred to the Kosovo problem, saying: “Serbia’s dialogue with Kosovo remains a big problem and its resolution means we are nearing the end of a chapter in a long history of blood and conflict. This is the most important and strategic goal. But even on this issue, Serbia and Kosovo are not where they were, they are in a much better position, given where they started. Of course, there is still much to be done.”

Asked about the war in Ukraine, Mr. Rama noted that “without a doubt, we are all with Ukraine”, but we need to “clarify what winning the war means for Ukraine” and how to end this “big bloody” conflict. “I mean, if we don’t have a clear idea of ​​what winning means, this can go on forever,” he said.

Mr. Rama also criticized the attitude of European leaders towards the Western Balkans, stressing that they are “trying to treat the Balkans as if the war were on Netflix.”

Regarding the negative comments about Albanian citizens living in the UK, Mr Rama said that they “set the nerves in his country” and, noting that he had “tremendous respect” for the UK and its history, expressed the hope that “we will overcome this bad situation.” .”

Finally, regarding the Turkish elections, Mr. Rama told CNN’s international correspondent Fred Pleitgen that Tayyip Erdogan is his “very, very close friend” and that he has done an “amazing job” for Turkey, but refrained from commenting further on the matter. . elections in Turkey. However, he argued that the EU had “shut the door” on Turkey during its own reforms to accession talks and added: “One thing is certain. With or without Erdogan, Türkiye is critical to EU security. And the EU should take Turkey very seriously.”

Source: APE/MEB