Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will visit Albania on Tuesday, where he will meet with the country’s political leadership.
He will first meet with Acting Foreign Minister of Albania Gent Cakaj, before meeting with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and President Ilir Meta.
Talks will focus on issues of bilateral, European and regional interest, with an emphasis on the course of Greek-Albanian relations, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the European perspective of the Western Balkans, said a statement released by Greek Foreign Ministry on Monday.
During his visit he will also hold talks with the presidents of the Democratic Party and the Union for Human Rights, Lulzim Basha and Vangel Dule, as well as with Greek businessmen operating in Albania.
Dendias will also meet with Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durres and All Albania.
President Meta says visit to shift attention from Albania’s internal concerns
Asked by journalists on the visit of Athens’ top diplomat and if he would give his “ok” for the government to continue with the pending maritime agreement, President Ilir Meta said in Monday’s press conference
that such a thing is done to divert attention from the biggest problem that Albanians have today, the April 25 elections next year.
“I have been cooperative and transparent with local and international actors, but I have not received any response to this issue, to my official requests for years. This issue requires cooperation between the Albanian authorities,” said Meta.
“The great attention of Albanians to the upcoming elections cannot be shifted to this event,” said the head of state.
In the meantime the senior DP official, Tritan Shehu in a comment on Monday said
Mitsotakis’s visit comes after a difficult period of nearly 8 years as a result of Rama’s deliberate destruction of strategic relations with Greece.
“With the breakdown of the normal sea agreement of 2009 a positive chance was lost for all. Now the way out remains in the Hague Tribunal,” Shehu, a former foreign minister, said.
“So, the remaining issues or artificially created by Rama’s destructive efforts in these two mandates will be resolved after April 25. These issues will be resolved in accordance with the 1996 Friendship Treaty,” he said adding that there is no “Law of War” between Greece and Albania, there is only a strategic partnership.
Protest calling for resolution to Cham issue
In the meantime the Union for Justice and Integration (PDIU) and the Cameria Patriotic Association called on Monday for a protest against the visit of the Greek FM.
“We call on all Albanians, all patriotic associations to join us in front of the Foreign Ministry (at 11am on Tuesday) 7to protest together against the visit of the Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Dendias, a visit which does not foresee any of the issues that concern Albanians, but it advances the Greek agenda,” said the press release issued by them.
Both PDIU and Cameria Association called on the Albanian government to take into account the EU agenda, expressed by former Commissioner Hahn, which defines the following issues: the resolution to the Cham issue, the abolition of the Law of War and the sea agreement./argumentum.al
