In his first reaction to Acting President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani, who spoke against the Balkan mini-Schengen and the barrier on the ‘Nation Road’, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama was harsh on Thursday on her listing a number of criticisms against segments of Kosovo leadership.
Using hostile rhetoric against Pristina officials having Osmani as main target, which is not unfamiliar, Rama blasted that the leaders in Kosovo make use of domestic policy for foreign policy, considering the statements about the toll on ‘Nation Road’ as propagandistic, grotesque and absurd.
“I can say that of course our goal has been and remains zero problems with the neighbors as you remembered, but zero problems with the neighbors does not mean hiding tem. It means zeroing the problems,” he said putting Kosovo into the same basket with the other Western Balkans countries.
Seeing Kosovo from this angle like Serbia, North Macedonia etc. the government head of Albania said his country does not have any problems with its neighbor, which as a matter of fact is populated by Albanians in large majority.
“Unfortunately, Kosovo has problems with itself. For some time now, domestic politics has become foreign policy. This has exhausted Kosovo internally and externally. It is a problem that I see with great concern,” Rama said responding to the senior official of Kosovo whom he met for a few minutes when she paid a three-day official visit to Tirana last week. The announcement by his office was a photo.
The PM defended the scheme of the regional Schengen initiated by him and Serb President Vucic. This initiative was lashed out at by Osmani who belongs to that part of Kosovo officials who reject it as an effort of Serbia to patronize the Balkans and grab territories of Kosovo.
“For me, it is inconceivable that a legitimate government, and the prime minister, sign the will of the state of Kosovo in the White House and an acting president appears in Albania and makes domestic policy,” Rama said.
But he was harsher on Osmani on the question of the ‘barrier’ which as she said in Tirana has been put by official Tirana.
“The road toll is presented as a border and this is done to make domestic policy using an administrative issue of the neighboring country,” he said considering it an absurd demagoguery. Rama advised the Kosovo leadership that war with Serbia is not won by coming to Tirana with the vulgar national folklorism.
Rama has become the first PM in Albania’s history to demonstrate publicly in an aggressive way his hostility towards some Kosovo leaders who disagree with his plans among which the land swap between Kosovo and Serbia. /argumentum.al
